


Lost Knight: A New Dawn

by Supercapo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 117,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supercapo/pseuds/Supercapo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Obi-wan Disappeared on Tatooine? What if Obi-wan wasn't there to save Luke, or to receive Princess Leia's message? What if things turned out differently in a galaxy far far away? A New Hope AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Rescue

"Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Princess Leia glanced over her shoulder then leaned down and switched off R2's holoimager, before finally letting go of a pent up breath. This was it, no turning back now. The droid let out one of his many chirps and whistles, which of course, she couldn't understand, but she liked to think it was an acknowledgment, that he understood how important the message and mission was.

But she didn't have time to dwell on such thoughts. The little droid needed to get to an escape pod, and she needed to get... anywhere else. For anything living, an escape pod was nothing less than a death sentence, which meant she was stuck on this ship, but she intended to avoid the Empire's patrols as long as she possibly could, and possibly take a few of them with her when they inevitably cornered her.

At least she had the home turf advantage, she knew the inside and outside of this ship as well as she knew every nook and cranny of her room at her father's the palace. With any luck, she would be able to keep the empire chasing after her for more than enough time for the little droid, and the vital plans that he carried, to escape.

After slipping by a couple of squadrons, Leia managed to make her way deeper into the depths of the ship. The Empire would be be flooding the maintenance shafts with gas so she had to stay the main corridors. Yet, in spite of the slinking around and imperial patrols, she actually managed to remain relatively calm, a no win scenario had that effect.

Until now.

Something in the air, had shifted in the last several minutes. The temperature felt like someone had altered the environmental controls; if she hadn't been running she might have shivered. Then there was the way the occasional trooper she slipped by seemed to be standing a little taller, or hold his weapon a little shakier. Something wasn't right, something more than the standard raid.

Of course, that feeling, of something being off, had lingered with her ever since they came out of hyperspace in the Tatooine system. General Kenobi was supposed to be on the dustball of a planet below. Yet even as Leia had said 'you're my only hope' the words had felt empty, as if she knew no one was there to answer.

But Leia, pushed those thoughts back. She had no choice but to hold to hope that Kenobi would answer her plea and deliver the plans to the Empire's superweapon to her father. If she couldn't hope for herself she had to hope for that.

As she crept through the corridors she found herself at a junction, one led to the main hold, the other to a chance for escape. If she could get past it she could slip into the engine room she could access a gas mask and then perhaps find away into the shafts. It wasn't a great plan, but at the moment, it was all she had. Holding her blaster at the ready, she peeked around the corner into the junction.

She wasn't one for vulgar words but 'kriff' was about the only word that covered it. For half a second she thought they hadn't spotted her, that she could slip back the way she came. Then one pointed and signaled his comrades. Leia wasted no time. She leveled her blaster and shot the one that gave her away, then made a break for the adjacent hallway. She knew this was it, there would be no escaping them at this point. She could only hope she could get far enough to lead them on a chase.

Behind her she heard the discharge of a blaster bolt, followed by a yelp, cut short by another blast.

Leia glanced over her shoulder then stopped in her tracks, almost tripping over her feet. Besides the stormtrooper she shot, lay two more, with the last one standing over their corpses.

It took a moment to figure out what happened. But even though the smoking barrel of the remaining trooper attested to his actions, Leia aimed her blaster at him. He may have just saved her, but she still had no idea who he was.

"Take the helmet off," she ordered. "Identify yourself."

"No time for that." the trooper said in a familiar voice, but still not one that identified him. There were still clones in the stormtrooper corps that originated from the original 'Fett' template, though not many. "Help me hide the bodies and strip their armor off."

"Take their armor off?" Leia said as the Stormtrooper dragged one of the corpses to a nearby alcove. "Why? Who are you? What's your designation?"

"Don't have one," he muttered as he grabbed the next body. "Your father sent me here to keep you alive."

Leia breathed a small sigh. A secret escort of some kind. That was just like her father. And in other circumstances she might have been annoyed. But considering the predicament they found themselves in, she couldn't be anything but thankful. Her mysterious protector might be rude, but could have been much worse.

"My father sent you? A rogue clone?" She said quietly as she helped move the last body. "Is there anyone else with you? Do we have an escape vehicle?"

The clone didn't say anything right away, instead he frittered with the clasps on the armor one of the dead troopers wore. Once he stripped the breastplate off the corpse, he shoved it into her arms.

"Help me get the rest off, between the three of them we should be able to cobble together a full set for you to wear."

"What?" Leia stared at the armor. "That's your escape plan? Have me put on oversized armor and hope nobody notices that I'm a little short for a-"

"Shut up and get dressed," The clone said. "I'll watch for any patrols. Hurry up."

"But... wha:.."

He merely put his back to her and stalked to the nearest entrance with his blaster ready. She was only left to shake her head then stare down at the armor. Where did her father dig this guy up? She knew she wasn't exactly in a position to pick and choose, but as far as rescuers went he left a lot to be desired.

A group of troopers passed by the outside corridor, quickly silencing her mental protestations and she began working on the armor in earnest. It took her a few moments longer than she would have liked, but she finally managed to put it all together. Though she did take pause at seeing the face of the man she took the helmet from. The helmets made it too easy to forget they were just as human as anybody fighting on her side.

Taking the helmet under her arm she approached the clone. He glanced back then nodded to the helmet.

"Put that on, don't speak, and follow me."

"Wait," she said. "What about the others? Captain Antilles, the ambassador, we have to try and rescue them!"

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Doesn't matter, your father didn't pay me to save them. Now put that on, shut up and come on."

"Paid!?" Leia started but the clone started off into the hallway. She had no choice but to slap on the helmet and race after him.

Not that it was easy, she couldn't see a thing in the helmet and it pressed uncomfortably against her hairbraids. In spite of that she did her best to keep up, though he always kept himself a few feet ahead, checking each corner before they turned it.

Leia couldn't believe that her father actually hired someone to come after her. Money made for fickle fickle friends and uncertain allies. Her father had taught her that. Were things really so desperate that they'd come to this?

Unfortunately, she wasn't given the time to muse on this as that strange chill ran up her spine, and a moment later her clone rescuer froze up; glancing around a corner and tightening his grip on his blaster.

"Kriff," he muttered. "He's here. Turn around we'll find another..."

Just as they turned around, another patrol came down the corridor, heading their direction. Between them was none other than Captain Antilles, Leia gripped her blaster rifle tighter and reminded herself that she couldn't interfere.

"You two, come with us," the stormtrooper commander said and they were forced to fall into step along with them and round the exact corner the clone wanted them to avoid. And it only took a passing glance to know why.

There, towering over the officers and stormtroopers, stood none other than Darth Vader. Now Leia knew why the stormtrooper's demeanor had changed earlier, it was one thing to run a military raid, it was another when the Emperor's most vicious servant led the charge and breathed down your neck.

The troopers led Captain Antilles to Vader and the pair exchanged words, with Vader bearing down on the Captain. Leia bit her lip as she watched the poor Captain try to maintain his professionalism and propriety under the horrible visage of Vader. Another trooper approached and informed the Dark Lord that the Death Star plans weren't in the main computer. Leia's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't said anything about the droids! There was still hope.

But her brief moment was shattered when Vader gripped Captain Antilles by the throat and hoisted him into the air. She made a move to... stop it, attack, cry out... something! But she felt a hard hand grip her shoulder just underneath the armor. She glanced back at the clone, who just gave the smallest of shakes of the head.

Before she knew it or could even react, the air filled with the sickening crunch of bones and Vader tossed Antilles lifeless body against a bulkhead like a ragdoll. She could only stand there in stunned horror as Vader barked orders then set off down the hallway.

Moments later, she and her Clone rescuer were headed down the opposite hall. With each step any tears that she may have been holding back for the Captain dried completely, replaced with the familiar hatred she had for this empire that could so callously end an innocent man's life.

As soon as they were able, they broke away from their group of troopers and found a nearby corridor to duck into. Leia fought the urge to remove her helmet and instead leaned on the bulkhead and tried her best to find her composure, even if nobody could see it.

"As soon as we have the opportunity we'll get to the shuttle bay," the Clone said. "From there we can get transport and get the hell away from this system. Your old man better be good for what he owes me. Should have known Vader would show."

"How can you be thinking of money at a time like this? It's only a matter of time before Vader and his bloodhounds figure out that the plans are not on board. We need to do something."

"We are," the clone said. "We're escaping while we still can."

"You don't understand," Leia said. "I'm the one responsible for keeping the plans away from the Empire, we have to go down to the planet and retrieve them, the fate of the Rebellion depends on me completing my mission."

"Not happening," the clone said. "All I care about at this point is getting off this ship with my head attached to the neck and you with me so it will actually be worth it."

Leia opened her mouth to argue but didn't get a chance. The earpiece in her helmet suddenly buzzed and the CO of the helmet's previous owner demanded that she report hanger to serve as part of the search team looking for a jettisoned escape pod. Leia knew all too well what had been in that pod.

"Come on," she broke away from their hideaway.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" The clone said, falling into step beside her.

"Hanger bay," she said. "Looks like the soldier you killed to get me this disguise has been ordered planetside."

"Not happening. We need to be leaving the system, not getting ourselves stuck on a planet crawling with Imps."

"Do you really believe that we could steal a shuttle from the hanger, blast off, and actually make the jump to lightspeed before the Empire reduced us to cosmic dust or towed us back with the tractor beam?"

"I've survived worse odds."

"I'm sure you believe that, however, we're not going to risk such a course needlessly, not when far safer and successful options are available, not while the information we obtained from the Empire is still within our reach to recover."

Princess Leia smiled to herself then about faced and marched down the hall, stopping only when she heard the clone level his blaster at her and click the safety off. Even then, she did not turn around. She barely even turned her head his direction.

"What do you plan on doing once you shoot me? Attempt your doomed escape plan carrying me on your back? If so, shoot me and I wish you luck on avoiding notice."

After a few heavy seconds, she heard the safety click on and the clone mutter something in Mandalorian. He the rushed up behind her and gripped her arm as they walked.

"If we're going to do this let's do it right. But once we're planetside and away from the Imps, you do as I say, understood."

"We'll see."

Before he'd ever left Tatooine, he truly thought that Mos Eisely was a big city. Sure, he knew that it wasn't Planet Sized, like Coruscant or Nar Shadda, but in his mind it compared to Coronet or Aldera. An impression that stuck with him right until he actually saw Aldera when his transport from Tatooine made a stop over. Only then did he realize that Mos Eisely was barely a speck of dust in the Galactic scheme of things.

And truth be told, Biggs Darklighter wondered if he'd ever lay eyes on it again.

Tatooine's twin suns blazed a deep red as they sunk into the horizon and Biggs adjusted his cloak as he stepped into the cantina. Before he got out and saw the galaxy, a place like this might have made him bristle and twitch with nervousness. Mos Eisely was where people came if they were either running from trouble off world or fleeing from it planetside. A dive like this one was filled with galactic riffraff, but now, they were his kind of people. Sentients just looking for an escape from the Empire, even if it was at the bottom of a glass.

Biggs found himself a nice stool at the bar, taking in the assortment of tusks, snouts, and antennae that came attached to most of the bars patrons. He wondered if any of the others here were also members of the Alliance. That's what made them successful, you knew an imperial just by looking at him. Human, polished armor or pressed uniform, and an arrogant gait like they owned every piece of floor they walked on. But a Rebel could be anyone. Human, non-human, in between and no one knew everyone in the Alliance.

"What will it be friend?" the matronly barkeeper asked him, pulling his attention from the menagerie of aliens and to the main reason he came to the bar in the first place. After ordering a juma he let his mind wander back to the argument he'd had with his father earlier in the evening, shortly after he got back from Tosche Station and saw Luke.

His father just didn't understand. He knew his father hated the Empire, but he always insisted that they just needed to get along with it instead of fighting and dying. In his mind as long as you left the Empire alone, it mostly left you alone. What he didn't get was that the Empire wasn't content in leaving anybody alone. The Empire was all about controlling everyone's lives, how much they made, how much they produced, where they went. Eventually the Empire would have it's fingers in all of it.

His juma arrived and Biggs took a small sip of it before turning back to face the room. At least he finally got to the Rebellion and was finally making a difference. Which was one of the reasons he was here on Tatooine. Officially it was just to visit his family and old friends like Luke. But unofficially, he'd received orders from up top that a possible operation would be taking place nearby and they wanted him in the system as back up. Further instructions would be given out upon meeting his contact.

He just had to wait for that person to make said contact.

As the minutes ticked by, and he slowly nursed his drink until it was midway down the glass, Biggs felt himself grow wary. How long was he going to be waiting? Shouldn't his contact have arrived by now? He'd been told to look for and what the pass phrase was. But thelonger he sat there, the more he worried that something had happened. Perhaps the Empire had captured him! There was already an unusually heavy Imperial presence here, escaping would be no easy feat.

Oddly enough, that made him think of Luke. If anybody would be able to out fly the imps, it would be that kid. All the more reason Biggs was glad he wasn't involved in all of this. Luke still had some growing up to do before he would be ready for the life that Biggs lived, wondering if a platoon of stormtroopers waited around every corner, constantly wondering if the next flight would be his last.

A newcomer sat down next to him and ordered a Tarisian ale, Biggs slid his eyes toward her, careful not to make eye contact or let on that he was looking. Immediately he recognized the cloak she was wearing and the small emblazoned crest of Alderaan near the neckline. Exactly what she was looking for.

"You should try this tarisian ale," she glanced over to him.

But I much prefer Nubian wine in the springtime.," Biggs answered. Then turned and faced the woman fully. There was one thing he could say about her, she was beautiful, long white hair, crystal blue eyes, and lips that would probably melt his heart if she smiled.

"I'm Winter."

"Biggs," he said but then couldn't help himself. "You know, Tatoonie has never seen a Winter before, much less one as gorgeous as you."

She didn't so much as smile at him. In fact, if her eyes had rolled any harder they might have popped out of their sockets.

"A flyboy, should have known they'd would send me someone like you. Try to keep it professional, we don't have time for this."

"Oh... I mean..."

"Come with me, I have a private booth we can talk freely at."

Biggs followed her, passing a wookiee and his companion playing a game of sabaac with a pair of twins. Biggs managed a sneaking glance at the cards, noting the wookiee would probably win before they came to their booth; situated in their tiny corner of the cantina. Winter glanced around then pulled out a small cicular device, and placed it in the center of the table before sitting back in her seat.

"Aural scrambler," she said. "Anyone listening in on us will get nothing but a garble of words and phrases."

Biggs raised a brow. This was getting more and more interesting, this wasn't exactly a haven for the Empire, and yet she still felt the need for maximum secrecy.

"You were selected for this mission," she unceremoniously began. "Because of two reasons, your impressive flight skills, but more importantly your knowledge of the local system. We'd hoped to not have to call on you at all but that isn't an option any longer."

"What are you talking about?"

"At 0800, regional planetary time, Princess Leia intercepted transmissions with a technical readout of a new superweapon being developed by the Empire. But the transmission was traced and the Princess's ship was captured by the Empire."

"Then there was a battle in orbit this morning," Biggs rubbed his chin, his thoughts turning to Luke.

Winter raised a brow.

"A friend of mine spotted it and showed me the ship through his macrobinoculars, but the fighting must have stopped before he could get to us. All we saw were a pair of ships docking. What was the Princess even doing in this system? There's not much here and almost no Rebel presence."

"Princess Organa was instructed that should all other options be closed to her, she was to come here to seek the aide of an exiled clone wars general. With his help she would be able to travel to Alderaan and deliver the plans."

"But the Princess was captured wasn't she?" Biggs said, feeling his heart sink a bit.

"Just after the operation began, Senator Bail Organa received intelligence that the general the Princess was supposed to contact, was possibly missing or dead. It was too late to abort the mission so a more... unorthodox back up plan was devised. In the event of the ship being captured, a hired mercenary was to protect the Princess and facilitate her escape."

"You devised a way to sneak the princess from the clutches of the Empire?"

"As I said, unorthodox."

"So I assume we're to make contact with the Princess and her rescuer?"

"He's been instructed to send a signal for a rendezvous if he can get planetside or to get her straight to Alderaan if he can. So far he has not signaled and I've received no confirmation from the Alliance that they have heard from him. Until we do our mission is to try and locate the missing General."

"Very well," Biggs nodded. "When do we begin?"

"From what I understand, it's dangerous to be out at night on Tatooine."

"You're not mistaken."

"First thing tomorrow morning then," she said. "But I'll need your comm code. If I hear from the Princess then you'll need to be read at a moment's notice."

"Very well then," Biggs said. "Or you could always stay with me, there's a spare room at my parents house."

"I have my own place to stay thank you very much." She replied curtly as she collected the jamming device. "Remember you were selected for this mission because of your piloting skills. Not your domestic connections."

"Understood," Biggs let out a small breath and handed her his comm codes. "Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow," she nodded curtly as she stood from their booth and started toward the door with no warning or preamble.

"Wait..." Biggs caught up with her and took her by the arm, knowing it would look less suspicious if they seemed close to any onlookers. "One final question... you didn't tell me. This General that's supposedly living here on Tatooine. What's his name?"

"Not sure you would have ever heard of him," she said. "But in the mid rim and core he was once very well known. He was a Jedi, by the name of Obi-wan Kenobi."

Biggs nearly tripped over his feet at that. He gripped Winter's arm tightly as his mind shot to the old stories his father and some of the moisture farmers used to tell. The wizard, the hermit. A Jedi living near them all this time... if he was still alive.

"I don't know any Obi-wan Kenobi," he said just loud enough for her to hear him. "But I think I've heard of the guy we're looking for, and I know where to start."

Mos Eisley received countless starships into its spaceport everyday. Legitimate traders, smugglers, mechanics, sinners and saints; everything and anything pretty much went. The old spaceport had seen it all, fortunes won and lost, deals struck and then undone. And for every soul that took off and swore they'd never set eyes on it again, a passenger disembarked from a freighter or cruiser, seeing an opportunity to start new in the sand.

Even with Imperials Star Destroyers orbiting above, the spaceport's daily hustle and bustle remained largely unaffected. The Hutts saw to that. And so cargo ships entered the system with little notice or harassment.

One in particular, though completely unassuming by all outward appearances, might have actually proved interesting if anyone had bothered to find out exactly who sat in its hold.

Not that it landed with no inspection whatsoever. It just happened to pass the cursory background checks and procedures without any fuss. Upon arrival it displayed all the proper landing codes and permits and registered as a nondescript cargo vessel. Nothing out of the ordinary.

However, had anyone attempted to dig into the passenger manifest or computer files, they would receive a lockout message from the upper clearance levels of Imperial Control.

So when this ship entered the Tatooine system, it passed by the Imperial blockade with relative ease, partially because of the unique nature of the ship and also because the Empire was far more interested in keeping ships from leaving the system then letting them come in.

The cargo ship came in for a smooth landing, while maintenance drones zipped and hovered about, eager to begin any work or repairs to the ship the instant they were deemed necessary. With the docking fee already paid and the proper identification given, no one appeared in the cargo bay to greet the passenger as the ships loading ramp lowered.

The slim figure stepped into the dry, morning air of Tatooine and wrinkled her nose. There were worse places in the galaxy to be, but not many. It was a far cry from the opulent dining room in their lofty towers she spent much of her time in. And at least here, no one would be whispering behind her back about being anyone's kept woman and other less than flattering sobriquets.

But she'd have time to muse on her surroundings later. His voice still echoed in her head. She had a mission to fulfill and her instincts told her that it was only planetside where she would find her quarry.

**_You will kill Princess Leia Organa_ **

It had been no more complicated than that. One minute she was running a training program while waiting for her computer to decode a transmission she'd intercepted from a Moff the Emperor didn't quite trust, the next she heard the order and she went to the cockpit of her vessel. The Emperor had already transmitted the hyperspace coordinates and relevant data.

Apparently Darth Vader had failed to capture the Princess, along with sensitive documents she had stolen. Whatever it was. It was more than the run of the mill assassination. Princess Leia Organa was one of the rising stars in the Imperial Senate and to order her assassination, right under the nose of Darth Vader himself could only mean that The Emperor viewed this in the highest priority.

For these such matters he turned to his Hand.

For this reason, Mara Jade stepped foot on Tatooine.

After a couple of seconds of adjusting her transport to compensate for the desert sands, she set out of the hanger, immediately blending in with the local riffraff of the spaceport. Perhaps the denizens of Mos Eisley weren't refined and polished like the upper echelons of Coruscant, but the thick layer of dust and grit seemed to make them all equal in their own way.

Except for the jawas.

Mara set out, into the city, reviewing the information she'd been given from the Emperor and what she'd learned by listening in on the com-chatter of the Imperial Star Destroyers orbiting the planet.

Organa had somehow eluded Darth Vader's clutches. She likely had the stolen data with her and she had been missing for over a day. Comm chatter Mara had listened in on told her that Vader's men had launched a mission to recover an escape pod in the desert but otherwise no further details were available.

Vader's men likely had the scent, and Mara fought back the temptation to find a way to insert herself into their investigation. Vader was not to know of her presence, but more than that... her instincts told her that if she sought the Princess, she needed to take another path.

A dry wind blew past her and she pulled a pair of goggles down over her eyes. She was going to get burnt in this sun, and there would be sand everywhere for who knew how many days, but in the end, she would carry out her master's will and Princess Leia would be dead.


	2. One Morning on Tatooine

It felt strange for some reason, looking out over the same dunes he'd seen his entire life. Seeing those dunes that he and Luke had played on and pretended to be star pilots and galactic heroes on, and all the while there might have been a Jedi Knight out there watching them. A real hero of the Old Republic, there, practically on his front doorstep!

As Biggs looked at the dunes, neither of the twin suns having quite risen over them, he could imagine General Kenobi standing there in his battle armor. He could be standing there and just be waiting to lead them to victory over the Empire!

"Remind me again why we're visiting a moisture farm in the middle of nowhere?" Winter brought him from his musings.

Biggs looked at his beautiful if less than charming companion then at the door to the homestead that stood in front of them. "Because if we're going to find General Kenobi then this is the place to start. Almost every farmer in the Great Chott Salt Flat community has a Ben Kenobi story, but the only man I know for sure that's ever seen him is Owen Lars."

"Great," Winter sniffed the air. "You could have told me we were just stopping to ask directions from a backwater yokel."

Biggs eyed her for a minute, he still hadn't rung the bell so he figured he had time. "You sound like a Grand Moff. This backwater yokel is one of the best men I've ever known, his nephew is one of my best friends, and he's exactly the type of down to earth person that we're endeavoring to save from the Empire."

"I didn't mean-"

"Let me make something clear your _highness-_ "

"I'm not royalty!"

"You might as well be with the way you're acting. Listen, Lars is a good man but he won't hesitate to throw us out on our collective asses if we give him an attitude like we think we're better than him! We have to respect these people even if they live lives we wouldn't want."

"I'm sorry," Winter said, glancing at her sand covered shoes.

"Apology accepted," Biggs said as he hit the comm switch buzzer. "Also this is important, don't mention the Rebellion."

"What? He's not a loyalist is he?"

"Hardly, but he doesn't want to get involved. Talking directly about the Rebellion will get us kicked out faster than we could make the jump to lightspeed."

"Got it."

"One more thing, you and me are a couple."

"I beg your unbelievable pardon?"

"I'm going to have to explain you somehow to Owen and Beru. You can't be a cousin since moisture farmers are tightly knit groups. So I met you at the Academy and I brought you home to meet my folks."

"This is ridiculous!"

"I tried inviting you over to my house last night so you could meet them and wouldn't have to lie, now you're just going to have to wing it."

"Of all the-"

Winter cut herself short when the door slid open and Beru stepped out. Her eyes darted back and forth before locking onto Biggs. Immediately her face lit up in surprise and delight. Biggs smiled back, as severe as Owen could be, Beru was practically everyone's mom.

"Biggs Darklighter! Is that you? What are you doing on my doorstep so early? You know Luke is still asleep at this hour! Come in, come in!"

"Actually we came to see Owen," Biggs said as he followed Beru into the dwelling. They walked right past Luke's room where he could swear he heard his friend snoring. "I'm taking Winter here on something of a grand tour of Tatooine and I thought that Owen might know a few points of interest."

"Try Corellia…" Owen's voice came as they came into the kitchen where Beru had a breakfast made. "…I hear that place is nice, a lot nicer than Tatooine."

"Mr. Lars," Biggs said.

"Darklighter," he nodded then his eyes turned to Winter. "And you are…"

For half a moment the insides of Biggs chest twisted. Given how difficult she found the idea of pretending to be his girlfriend, he worried that Winter might not play along just out of spite and that he was going to have to spin a yarn on his feet. In fact, he almost opened his mouth to do just that. Fortunately Winter decided to surprise him.

"Hi!" she beamed with a positively jolly bounce in her voice as she shook Owen's hand. "I'm Winter Retrac! Biggsy has told me all about this place! So good to meet you!"

"Apparently," Owen said with half a smile then he cast a look at Biggs and winked knowingly. "Welcome to Tatooine."

"Thank you so much!" Winter said. "Biggs is taking to see all his childhood haunts. It's really kind of adorable!"

"Adorable," Owen said. "Don't think I've ever heard that word used to describe Tatooine."

Beru suddenly placed a plate of eggs and a cup of bantha milk in front of them. Then she took a seat next to Owen and began to chat with Winter about where she was from and how she met Biggs. Again, Winter performed perfectly, to the point that Biggs almost wondered if they had been going out at some point and he'd forgotten! Winter even had their song picked out! A song he hated but a song none-the-less!

Gradually the conversation shifted to her stay on Tatooine and Biggs jumped in by mentioning a few of the places he planned on taking her to see. Beggars Canyon, the Dune Sea, The Mos Espa Grand Arena. He just needed to guide the conversation a bit closer to their actual target.

"Seems like you already have quite the itinerary," Owen said. "Not sure why you need my advice, apart from the need to watch yourselves, you'll be going dangerously close to Sand People territory."

"Sand People?" Winter said.

"Native species," Owen said, his voice growing a little dark. "Savages really, they control about half the Dune Sea and the Jundland Wastes."

"Don't worry sir," Biggs said. "I know better than to go near their territory, I want Winter to see a lot of the things Tatooine has to offer but that's not one of them."

"Good," Owen said.

"They sound very dangerous!" Winter said. "Isn't there anyone that can deal with them? Maybe live in their territory peacefully?"

Owen snorted and Biggs glanced at Winter, instantly knowing her intentions.

"Sand People would gladly flay the skin off your bones young lady, no one reasons with them or lives among them."

"No one?" Biggs took a breath, here went nothing. "What about Ben Kenobi? I always heard he would have lived out there."

Owen's eyes narrowed on Biggs for a moment then shot to Beru. Instantly the mood in the room shifted, The air suddenly felt heavy and almost hard to breathe.

"Ben Kenobi?" Winter said. "Who's that?"

"Just a ghost story," Owen said. "Everyone knows that."

"Really?" Biggs said. "My father said that you met him once."

Owen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Darklighter, I don't know what you're playing at trying to chase after a ghost with your girlfriend but I really don't have time for it."

"But you did meet this Ben Kenobi?" Winter said, her voice starting to drop the light lilt she had used for the entire conversation. "He does actually exist?"

"No," Owen said and Beru shot him a look. "Fine… if you really want to hear a desert tall tale; there used to be a hermit named Ben Kenobi that lived in these parts. He died years ago but people have been telling ghost stories about him ever since."

"How do you know he died?" Biggs said. "There was that time that Luke and I were -"

"It was your imagination," Owen said. "I'm the last person to have actually seen Kenobi and that was years ago."

"How many?" Winter said.

Owen glared at her. "What is this? An interrogation?"

"I just want to know."

"Almost two decades ago," Owen said then stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have chores that need to get done."

"Where did he live then?" Winter stood as well, Biggs grabbed her arm to calm her down but she pulled away. "Mr. Lars sir, I need to know where he lived."

Owen didn't respond to her. Instead he turned to Biggs. "What's going on here? You're not actually taking a girlfriend on a desert excursion."

"He lived on the edge of the Dune Sea," Beru said. "At least we think he did."

"Beru!"

"Owen, we were about two seconds from blows being thrown in my kitchen. I won't have that."

"But this… fine. Yes, south east edge of the Dune Sea as near as we could tell. We never went there but he always came from that direction. But that's it, that's all we know and we wouldn't say more if we did."

"But sir-" Winter said.

"Thank you Mr. Lars," Biggs grabbed her arm again. "Thank you, that's all we need."

"Good. Now I suggest you get out of my house and think long and hard before you come back. You understand me Darklighter?"

"Yes sir," Biggs said. "I'm sorry to disturb you."

"You go following after Kenobi, you'll bring yourself to a bad end," Owen said. "Mark my words boy."

"Some things are worth getting killed over," Biggs said then took Winter by the hand and led her out. Owen followed them the entire way, standing just in front of Luke's door as if trying to physically prevent them from seeing them.

Once outside Biggs released Winter's hand and marched to the speeder they'd gotten off his father. He didn't look at her but instead climbed into the driver's seat and activated the engine. Winter took her seat in a huff and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the dunes in the distance.

"He knows more than he's letting on!" she finally said. "Why did we leave?"

"Because that's all we were going to get," Biggs said then looked at her. "Maybe he knows who Kenobi is and doesn't want to get involved in the bigger things of the Galaxy. I don't know, but we have enough to go on."

"Fine," Winter sighed. "I take it you know the area?"

"More or less," Biggs said. "It's a big area to cover but there's not much more we can do about it."

"Right," Winter said, continuing to stare at the dunes. Biggs joined her, especially as off on the furthest dune, a sandcrawler appeared.

"What's that?" she said.

"Jawa Sand Crawler," Biggs said. "They find junk in the wastes and sell it to people. They've probably come to trade with Owen."

"Maybe we should ask them where Kenobi is."

"If I knew a word of their language I might, in the meantime we have a scanner and some directions, we should make the most out of them."

"Fine," Winter said as she fired up the scanner. "Let's get to it."

Biggs nodded, paying a final glance to the Sandcrawler before gunning the engine and leaving the Lars Homestead behind, idly wishing he'd been able to talk to Luke and get him to come with them.

* * *

"Look sir, droids!"

In spite of the heat, a chill ran up Leia's spine when she heard those words. She'd dared hope against hopes that somehow the minions of the Empire would miss any tale tell signs of the escape pod's occupants and assume it was a malfunction.

But now she stood, in the middle of the desert, surrounded by stormtroopers with only her disagreeable clone rescuer as any sort of back up. Even though she held a blaster rifle in hand, she felt completely helpless as she watched the commander examine the piece of droid chattel left from when Artoo and Threepio crashed.

"You're right," The commander said. "Looks like it belongs to an astromech of some kind."

"If it's an astro droid then it wasn't alone," another trooper said. "There are footprints all around, could be a protocol droid."

"Let's get a tracker on those prints," the commander said. "Fan out everyone! You'll search the entire damn desert with a fine toothed comb if that's what it takes to find those droids."

Leia locked her eyes on Threepio's footprints and noticed the dissimilar imprint of R2's wheels going alongside it. Her stomach sank as she looked at them, unless some sort of sandstorm or something happened, there would be a clear path leading the Empire straight to the droids.

She could only hope that Artoo found General Kenobi in time.

She looked up from the tracks as another stormtrooper approached her. For a second she questioned who it was and warded off her natural instincts to get ready to fire, but then he motioned with his head for her to follow and she knew it was her clone rescuer.

"I managed to get the ignition codes to one of the speeders," he said. "As soon as we're given a break we'll take it and get the hell out of here."

"We can't leave," Leia said. "They've found the trail of the droids, if we don't stick with them then we won't be able to stop them from recovering them!"

"Don't care," the clone said. "It's only a matter of time before they discover your little ruse princess. We're planetside and this is our best chance to escape. We'll make our way to Mos Eisely book passage on a ship and get to Alderaan."

"Don't you understand how important this is?" Leia said. "The fate of the Galaxy is at stake!"

"This isn't up to negotiation," he took a step toward her. "The Galaxy will find its fate one way or another but I can guarantee that it will find it without you if we stick around here too long."

Leia was about to protest when the commander approached them, still holding the droid part. Quickly she straightened up, trying to look as tall as she possibly could. She'd done well enough so far in convincing them she was part of the unit but the last thing she needed was scrutiny.

"Sir," the clone said.

"Stop standing around jawing!" the commander said. "The trail splits up between the two. I want the two of you following after the footprints!"

"Sir! Yes sir!" the clone saluted and Leia followed suit.

"You!" the commander took a step toward her. "I didn't hear you trooper!"

Leia almost flinched and in spite of the cooling units attached to her armor, a cold sweat broke out, running down her face underneath the helmet. One word from her mouth would be all it would take for the game to be up. She'd either be dead or made a prisoner of the Empire.

With surely only seconds to spare before the commander demanded to know her identification number, Leia did the only thing she could think of short of opening fire and getting herself and her partner killed. She raised a finger to the 'mouth piece' on her helmet and gave it a couple of taps then shook her head.

"Yeah, it seems that this soldier's vocoder is on the fritz," the clone said, quickly picking up on her meaning. "Maybe he should report to the garrison to get it replaced."

"He can do it when we get back to the ship," the commander said. "In the meantime you stick with him and try to figure out whatever comes out of his damn mouth."

The commander stormed off and Leia pushed out a pent up breath she held. Her body shivered from the cold and she slowly loosened her fingers which had curled up involuntarily. She must have done something today to make the Force happy with her.

"That was too damn close," the clone said. "Now you see why we can't stick around, yeah? Only a matter of time."

After taking a quick glance to ensure nobody was in earshot, Leia turned to her partner. "I'm well aware of the risk, in fact nothing could be more clear to me now, but that doesn't outweigh the need to get the droids before the Empire does or at least recover them from the Empire."

"You're crazy, completely mad," the clone said. "Follow me, we're not going to make a break for it yet but I want to make sure you know without a shadow of a doubt which speeder we'll be going to."

The pair made their way toward the speeder, all the while they kept their heads down as if examining the sands for tracks. The cooling unit in Leia's suit now really kicked into overdrive or perhaps she felt it more because the earlier nervous perspiration, either way she could think of few things as unpleasant as this.

"You know how to drive one of these things?" the clone said.

"Of course I do," Leia said. "I learned when I was sixteen when I stole my father's-"

"Yeah, not important," the clone said. "Just as long as you can fly it."

"What's that?" Leia motioned to a large package in the back seat.

"Insurance," the clone said. "Now come on, we need to keep blending in so-"

"Attention troops!" The commander's voice boomed out loud enough that everyone in the area could hear him. "Assemble in front of me!"

Leia turned her head to her companion but his helmet was as unreadable as hers. But deep inside, her stomach fell and a nervous tingle assaulted the back of her neck. She had a bad feeling about this.

Luckily they didn't leave too far from their speeder as all the men assembled in a line in front of the commander, with Leia and her companion taking the very end. Nearby the dewbacks grunted and growled, as though they could sense the uneasy air that had swept over the desert sands.

"I just received word from command," he said. "Three soldiers never reported in after the battle and were later found stripped of their armor. Everyone here is to remove their helmets and state their identity."

Leia might have been hearing things but she could swear she hear the clone say the word 'kriff' under his breath. If he did then she completely agreed with his sentiments. All the other stormtroopers started pulling off their helmets, all the while the commander eyed each of them suspiciously. If things had been bad for Leia when the commander wanted her to talk… now they were ten times worse.

"Don't take your helmet off no matter what," the clone whispered as he hooked his own hands under his helmet and slipped it off.

In spite of knowing what he would look like due to the nature of him being a clone, Leia couldn't help but steal a glance and take in his worn features. This clone had seen a lot of action, not surprising considering he probably served in the Clone Wars. But she didn't have time to dwell on it. Especially once the commander zeroed in on her.

"What are you waiting for soldier!" he said. "Did your broken vocoder make your hands not work?"

Leia shook her head.

"He's got a condition sir," the clone said.

"A condition? Like not following orders?"

"Adverse to sunlight, I can vouch for him sir."

"Oh you can, can you?" the commander stepped up to the clone.

"Yes sir! He's served with me across several campaigns, Bakura, Kessel, Utapau."

"Utupau huh? Well what a storied career the two of you have had, next you'll be telling me that he's the one that blasted General Kenobi off the cliff!"

"No sir, but we did get to see him fight General Grievous."

A couple of the other soldiers snickered but were instantly silenced when the commander turned on them. Finally he looked back to Leia and the clone.

"Listen soldier! I don't care if the two of you marched with Darth Vader into the Jedi Temple itself! I gave an order and that order is to remove your damn helmet! Now he's going to do as he's said or there's going to be a charred corpse in the sand!"

"More than one actually," the clone said.

Just as the commander asked a quick 'what?' a blaster bolt shot him to the ground. Leia didn't wait for the clone to tell her what to do. Immediately she opened fire as well. The troopers were, for the first couple of seconds, too stunned to do anything but be gunned down.

Using that moment to its fullest advantage, the clone ripped his thermal detonator from his belt and tossed it out in the middle of them. Neither he nor she waited to see what happened from there. Both bolted for the speeder, throwing themselves in amid a cacophony of blaster bolts, explosions and screams.

Leia jammed the ignition, even as the clone was still piling in. Instantly they shot off, headed straight for a nearby rock formation. They needed cover if they were going to have even the slightest chance of survival.

Those chances seemed to quickly diminish as blaster fire rained down on them from behind. The remaining stormtroopers had managed to get themselves organized enough to counter attack. A stray bolt jostled the craft as it hit near the engine and Leia reached for the restraints.

"Don't!" the clone said as he fumbled with the package in the back seat. "That's not part of the plan!"

"This is a plan!?" Leia said.

"A working plan! Get ready!"

"Get ready for what?"

Before he could answer the chugging sound of an engine over head interrupted. Leia glanced up long enough to confirm it was the transport they'd come in. A second later a large blaster bolt burst the ground just to their side, nearly shaking them from their seats.

"Almost there!"

Another blast came, this one closer, almost a direct hit. The impact in the sand sent shards of glass and burnt sand around them in a shower of heat. Leia tried weaving the speeder in an effort to make them a more difficult target but that thing would be able to follow them anywhere they went.

"Get ready!"

"Get ready for what?"

The ship blasted again and Leia could do nothing but scream when she realized the laser fire was going to be a direct hit. She jerked the controls but in less than a second the speeder erupted in flames, debris, and smoke.

* * *

"There really isn't anything out here but miles and miles of miles and miles," Winter said capping her brow with the palm of her hand. "You really think that General Kenobi could live out here?"

"Well it wouldn't be an easy life," Biggs took a swig from his water pouch. "But with the right equipment anybody could. And certainly General Kenobi could if half of what I've heard about the Jedi is true."

"I'm more concerned as to whether or not what Lars said is true. Do you really think Kenobi is dead?"

Biggs paused for a moment, being a rebel, he liked to think he lived in hope, but he couldn't deny the pesky possibility that Luke's uncle was right. Contemptible attitude be damned. With a sigh he stepped out of the parked speeder and looked down from the ridge they sat on.

"I can't say that it's not possible," he said. "I've always supposed that he was a ghost if anything. That's the way most of the 'Ben Kenobi' stories go."

"What do you mean?"

"Here's the thing," Biggs said. "Like Lars said, Ben Kenobi showed up nearly twenty years ago, that much is sure, and a few people like Lars can tell you about meeting him. But as far as I know the last time anyone actually saw him face to face, let alone spoke to him was... at least ten years ago, probably more."

"So why the ghost stories?" Winter sipped her water "In fact, didn't you mention something about that to Lars?"

"Yeah," Biggs said. "And my story is typical of most the Kenobi stories. "When I was a kid, Lars nephew Luke and I fell into a ravine. We were stuck down there for hours, all day actually. Then just as it was getting dark, Luke said he heard a voice calling in the wind. I thought the suns had gotten to him but Luke insisted that he could hear a voice calling to him and telling him where to go to get out."

"Interesting."

"That's not the interesting part," Biggs said. "No, the interesting part is that we followed that voice and it led us to a rock face, I was about to tell Luke he was crazy but he said the voice told him there was a series of stones that we could walk along and use as stairs, sure enough, there were the rocks. Soon we were out and able to try and go home."

"And you think it was Kenobi?"

"I didn't know what to think... But I haven't even gotten to the strange part," Biggs said. "The strange part is that I never heard this voice at all, but when we were walking away from the ravine, I looked up at the nearest sand dune and I swear I saw someone."

"Kenobi?"

"I don't know. He wore a cloak and a hood and he almost seemed to... glow. I turned to tell Luke but when we looked back no one was there."

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm? That's all you have to say to that?"

"What do you want me to say? Maybe it was Kenobi, maybe you were seeing things after the sun baked your brains, or maybe you just told me the kind of ghost story you would tell to get some girl to swoon for you."

"Are you serious?" Biggs said.

"At this point I'm not going to take anything at face value," Winter said. "Kenobi was a powerful Jedi Master, if your story is true then Kenobi is most likely alive and the two of you just imagined the rest of it. I can't imagine what interest a powerful Jedi Master would have in a couple of farm boys like you."

"I didn't imagine anything, I saw him, he had a blue glow around him like a ghost."

Winter just sighed and shook her head. "Very well Darklighter, I'll take your word for it, but I'm not getting stuck in a ravine with you just to draw out the spirit of a Jedi Master, instead we should get back to scanning for any signs of technology."

"By all means," Bigg said as he gunned the engine and started them off further toward the Dune Sea. They didn't make it more than a few kilometers before Winter rapped him on the shoulder and leaned toward the scanning screen a bit.

"Did you see that?" Winter said.

"What?" Biggs glanced from the speeder controls to her.

"There was a formation of some kind and some metal on the scanner."

Biggs slowed the speeder down a touch so he could get a better look at the scanner. He darted his eyes back and forth between the horizon and the scanner but saw nothing.

"Whatever it was it's gone now," he shrugged.

"Turn around," Winter said. "It's been the first blip we've seen in hours!"

Biggs knew this desert well; he'd travelled it countless times. He knew that when a scanner picked up a stray bit of metal it probably meant a piece of scrap that not even the Jawas thought enough of to salvage. But in the last twenty four hours he'd also come to know that Winter was hardly someone you said no to.

"Yes ma'am," Biggs said as he swerved the speeder. The sudden turn and inertia sent Winter spilling into him, pressing her warm body up against his. Instantly she jerked away then socked his arm.

"What was that for?"

"This is a search and rescue operation, not the Boonta Eve Classic! Drive like you know how!"

"Okay fine I... Wait... Boonta Eve Classic? You're into pod racing?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I just happen to know that the locals of Tatooine are enamored with that particular race."

"You just happen to know that? Fair enough, it is the most famous racing event in the sector. I had front row seats when Rikki Bawbi won the tournament last year."

"You mean Quadri..."

Biggs looked at her with an upturned brow, and she gasped. A smirk curled under hs mustache as he watched her face flush at being caught red handed.

"Alright fine!" She said. "I may watch the occasional race! So I am well aware that Ben Quadineros came out of retirement to win his first ever Boonta Eve title."

"You're a Pod Groupie," Biggs grinned from ear to ear. "I'll bet you have posters and models at your home."

"I most certainly do not!" Winter said. "But for the record, Rikki Bawbi is nothing but an arrogant, brainless son of a- there! Stop!"

Biggs flattened his foot on the brakes and the two nearly smacked their heads on the console. This time however, Winter saved the chiding remarks and focused on the scanner, trailing her finger from the singular blip near the edge of the screen to the coordinate reader. Biggs nodded at the reading then glanced out along the rocky ledges.

"Okay there it is," Winter said. "Please tell me you have a pair of macrobinoculars in this thing?"

Biggs nodded and fished them from the compartment, he then stood up in his seat and focused in the direction of the blip. Winter reached for the binoculars but Biggs just put them to his face and began scanning his eyes over the picture. All the while he heard Winter complaining that she needed to look.

"I don't see anything just yet," Biggs said.

"Then give them here so I can find it!"

"Shhhh, I'm trying concentrate."

"Ugh! I can't believe I'm stuck in the ass end of space with the likes of you."

Biggs almost chuckled at her contrition but at that moment the macrobinoculars picked something up and the auto focus feature began highlighting and filtering the image until a small adobe hovel appeared. Biggs blinked hard and looked again, it had seen better days but it was definitely man made.

"I might have to make you the navigator on my next flight," Biggs said. "You were right, there is something out there."

"Let me see!" Winter said, plucking the macrobinoculars from him. It only took her a couple of seconds to zero in on the structure; all the while Biggs capped his hand over his brow and squinted at its direction, hoping to get a glimpse with the naked eye.

"You know of anyone that lives all the way out here?" she said, not taking her eyes off the building.

"Not a one," Biggs grinned as he plopped back down in his seat. "Odds are that's where our Jedi lives!"

Winter sank back down as well and for once she shared his smile. Biggs felt his heart take maybe an extra beat or two as he gazed at her and actually enjoyed how good she looked wearing a grin. When this was over he was definitely going to ask her for a drink.

"Let's get over there and see if he's home," Biggs said then looked up at the sky. "And we better do it soon. We don't want to be out here at night. This is Sand People territory."

"Let's do it flyboy," Winter said but then in the next second the smile from her face disappeared, replaced with an expression of shock and fear. Her blaster came up and Biggs turned just in time to see the gaffi stick coming at his face.

Blaster fire collided with the tusken raider's chest and he collapsed backward just before his weapon would have connected with Bigg's head. The air filled with the calls of the Sand People and Biggs looked around to see them rushing out from hiding places in the rocks and stones.

He gunned the accelerator but a frightening snap/hiss issued from the air and the engine actually fell clean off of the speeder. Biggs drew his blaster but Winter grabbed his shoulder with one and pointed with the other, drawing his eyes to the sound of the nearby humming.

The Sand People swarmed around them and around a single solitary man, dressed like one of them complete with head and face coverings, but holding a laser sword in his hand. Biggs gripped his blaster a bit tighter and looked to Winter but she was just as clueless as he was. Biggs mind boggled at what was presented before him. General Kenobi? With the Sand People?


	3. The Fallen Jedi

Fess Ilee knelt amid the orchids and ever blooming fauna in the Royal Gardens. His breathing came out in steady bursts, in sharp contrast to the strain and consternation that showed on his features. A passerby might puzzle himself to death trying to get a read on him at the moment given the conflicting body signals.

Especially since one didn't typically expect to see the sycophantic, greasy, botanist to the royal family meditating so strenuously, or at all really.

But Fess paid no heed to what anybody might have thought of him at the moment. The Dark Side of the Force covered his entire perception like a shroud. Try as he might he could not muster a single ray of light to penetrate the veil. The Force had felt thick with its imbalance for almost as long as he could remember but he'd never felt it like this before.

Where are you Obi-wan? He thought into the Force, hoping against hope to get an answer. Can you not feel it? The shift in the Force? It is at a tipping point. Either it will teeter back toward the Light or it will plummet into untold Darkness. Can you not feel it?

As usual… no answer.

Again he cursed himself for not finding a reason for a leave of absence and tracking down the old Jedi Master himself. He should have done it years ago but something always kept him rooted on Alderaan… usually a certain rebellious princess.

He was just about to give up his mediation when a shiver ran up his spine and a tremor in the Force appeared… that tipping point was nearly here… and something had happened that… someone was near… danger…

A voice called his name, his true name Ferus Olin, not Fess Ilee his alias. For a moment he felt a glimmer of hope. Obi-wan perhaps? Then the voice came again and he realized he heard it with his ears, not with the Force, and he recognized the owner. Hardly an unwelcome visitor but not the one he hoped for at the moment.

"Ferus! Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you your Highness," Ferus opened his eyes and pulled himself to his feet to greet the First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan.

"No time for deference my old friend," Bail said. "We just received word that the Tantive IV was caught in an asteroid storm and destroyed!"

"An asteroid storm!" Ferus said. "Impossible! Captain Antilles is one of the finest officers in the Alliance!"

"Of course we don't believe it," Bail said. "But Leia has not reported in yet, nor has Winter. I fear that the Empire has captured or killed her. I cannot help but wonder if our worst fears have come to pass."

"Sith spit," Ferus muttered. "This is all my fault. I should never have let her go on that mission alone."

"I don't think there would have been any way to convince her not to go," Bail said. "Much less convince her that the royal botanist needed to accompany her."

"Have you not heard anything from our… agent that we sent to help her?" Ferus said and the pair began walking at a brisk pace, no doubt to a briefing room where they could be certain they were not near listening ears.

"Nothing from him either, I was a fool to send him! Chances are he's taken Leia prisoner for himself and is selling her to the Hutts or even the Empire as we speak."

"What choice did we have?" Ferus said. "He knew of the mission and there was no telling what would happen if we didn't hire him at that point. We just have to trust in the Force that Leia will be alright and trust in your pocket book that he will not betray us."

The two entered the briefing room and Bail let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead. Ferus had seen him like this much lately. He had the exact same expression on his face when Ferus informed him that he believed Obi-wan Kenobi was possibly dead or missing. The conversation that started this entire chain of events.

"I believe now more than ever that the time of your hiding is nearing its end Ferus," Bail finally said. "Especially if your suspicions about Obi-wan are correct. The Galaxy needs a Jedi to help defeat the Empire. Leia needs the Jedi."

"There's no doubting that," Ferus said. "But I don't think I'm that Jedi… I've made far too many mistakes in my life. Protecting Leia was the only thing I ever did right… up til this point."

"You're too hard-" Bail started but was interrupted when his comlink fired off, at the same time that tremor in the Force reappeared in Ferus' spine. Danger.

"Sir! You need to evacuate! Repeat! Evacuate! The Empire-"

The transmission ended abruptly as both Ferus and Bail stormed out of the room. As they went, Ferus reached under his shirt and released a clasp, allowing the body suit he wore on his chest to give the appearance of a pot-belly fall away and allowing him unrestricted movement.

The palace walls suddenly shook with the sound of distant explosions and blaster fire echoed down the halls. Ferus reached into an 'herb' pouch he kept on his person at all times and drew out his lightsaber.

"Ferus no," Bail said pulling out his blaster. "If the Empire truly is descending on us then they won't rest until they have me. You need to get out of the palace and try to rescue Leia."

The ground beneath them rumbled as heavy gunships swarmed by a nearby window and tie fighters screeched overhead. The Empire was hardly playing games this time. Odds were the entire palace was surrounded by now.

"I can't just leave you sir," Ferus said. "The Alliance needs you."

"The Alliance will survive without me, but everything is lost if Leia's mission is a failure! Now go and may the Force be wi-"

Another explosion rocked the floor, and threw the two men off their feet. Smoke and fire filled the room followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. Ferus pulled himself up to see stormtroopers bursting in from a hole where the nearest door used to be.

Instantly his lightsaber ignited and he launched himself into the center of them. Blaster fire volleyed all around him but he weaved past it and batted away any stray bolts that may have gotten too close for comfort. This was a standard regiment of stormtroopers, in no way were they expecting a Jedi to be there.

After knocking back the last of the stormtroopers, Ferus raced to Bail's position. A streak of blood ran down the senator's temple but apart from that he appeared unhurt. He held his smoking blaster at the ready, scanning the hallway for any more stormtroopers, but when none appeared a smile actually crawled up his face.

"Bail?" Ferus said.

"Leia is alive. That's the only explanation for the Empire descending like this right now. Leia is alive and free and the Empire is taking us as a last ditch effort to learn the location of the Alliance's base."

A small smile crossed Ferus' features as well but he didn't let it linger. That was very possible and very encouraging. Of course he left it unsaid that the Empire could also just as easily have Leia now and merely sought to eliminate an entire family of insurrectionists. Best to live in hope, especially now.

Another explosion echoed through the halls and Bail stiffened, the elation drained from his face and immediately Ferus knew the reason. He didn't wait to see if Bail followed, for he knew that he would. He just broke into a run. That explosion came from the residential suites. Bail's family was there!

Though he rushed as fast as his feet could carry him, a gnawing dread swept over him. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. Deep down in his heart, when he meditated, he knew that events were supposed to have transpired differently, even if he didn't know exactly how.

A moment before he reached the suites, another tremor in the Force hit him. This one was nothing but terror, hate, and darkness. He only knew of one thing in all the Galaxy that produced that sort of feeling, he became accustomed to it during his time as a mole with the Imperial Inquisitors.

The Dark Side of the Force.

Ferus burst into the room and immediately reeled back just a bit, his lightsaber igniting as he found the horrible source of the tremor.

Clothed in black, standing a head taller than anyone else in the room, and unmistakable artificial respiration that was at once deep but also empty; no one ever wondered whether or not they were looking at Darth Vader.

Bail came in a second later, freezing in step as he saw the Sith Lord standing amid his troops, many of them threatening his sisters with the end of blaster rifles. Darth Vader turned on them, his black cape billowing behind him as he approached, flanked by his men.

"Darth Vader," Bail said, putting affected bravado in his voice. "Only you would be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not stand for this attack on Alderaan's sovereignty."

"Don't act so surprised your highness," Vader said. "You've only escaped the judgment of the Empire by sheer luck the last time we spoke. Now there will be nothing and no one to save you."

"I might have something to say about that Vader," Ferus said and brandished his lightsaber.

Before Bail could stop him, he lunged at the Sith Lord intent on engaging him once and for all in single combat. But like so many things in his life, he was met with disappointment. Invisible hands latched around his neck and closed in on his windpipe. He focused his mind on breaking Vader's hold but it was too late. He couldn't even cry out in pain as the lightsaber ignited through his abdomen.

All he could do was stare at his own horrified expression reflected in the lens's of Vader's mask. All he could do was realize this was the end for him.

Only then did the hold on his throat lessen and Ferus dropped to the ground, feeling his life slip away as Vader advanced on Bail. To his credit the Senator ignored the Sith Lord and slipped his hand behind Ferus' neck. Even now Bail Organa was proving himself one of the few true friends Ferus had ever had.

"You're coming with me," Vader said to the Senator and Ferus' eyes drooped.

"It doesn't matter what you do to us," Bail said but looked to Ferus. "Princess Leia is safe and you don't have the stolen transmissions."

Ferus nodded even as his chest shuddered with each breath. Even with the pain he found himself smiling up at Vader, and then he felt that tiny sliver of light he'd been looking for, breaking through somewhere out there in the stars. The Empire had already lost and they didn't even know it.

And perhaps it was just the dreams of a dying man, but just before everything went black, he thought he heard Obi-wan's voice welcoming him to the Force.

In all his life, Biggs had never seen so many gathered Sand People. Of course, never once in his life had he actually been taken to a tusken raider camp. So seeing so many of them shouldn't have come as a surprise.

But the novelty of such a thing was somewhat lost on him considering they were leading him into the camp with leather bonds strapped around his wrists, and if he even looked back to see if Winter was okay the nearest guard would jab him in the back with his gaffi stick.

From the moment they'd been captured to the setting of the suns, they'd marched like this; single file, heads forward, complete silence. Never once did their captors offer them food or water and at times Biggs worried he might pass out. But finally the suns set and they entered the tusken camp.

The women and children, at least Biggs assumed they were given their outfits and size, rushed to greet the warriors and for half a second Biggs could forget that they were prisoners and just marvel at how… human their interactions seemed.

He didn't get much time to ponder on that though, mere moments after entering the village they were corralled into a small tent. For a moment Biggs hoped that they would be leaving them alone so he could finally check in on Winter but the guards stood there among them. Biggs had to settle on meeting Winter's eyes and watching for her small quick nod as an acknowledgment of her well being.

Any relief soon drained when a couple of the tusken guards broke away from the others, muttering something in their guttural language. For some reason they seemed fixated on Winter, occasionally pointing at her before grunting or howling at each other. Finally one approached her and reached out to her hair.

Winter flinched away but the raider roared something and grabbed her shoulder. Biggs tried rushing to her but the other guard shoved a gaffi stick up against his gut. He could only watch as the tusken raider lifted a few strands of Winter's platinum hair in between his fingers and held it up in front of his goggles.

"Yes," Winter said. "I have amazing hair, now let me go."

The raider ignored her protestations and warbled something at his companion before collecting a bunch of her hair in his hand and pulling out a knife. Winter didn't wait another second, instantly her fist shot out, connecting with the side of the raider's face and knocking him to the ground.

For a moment Biggs worried that the raider would retaliate violently and it even looked like he might, but the rest of the warriors around them let out howls that sounded oddly like laughter and held him back. Biggs couldn't help but smile, apparently Winter had figured out how to make friends with the natives.

But before anybody could invite them for drinks or howling contests or whatever sand people did, their chieftain entered the tent. Biggs and Winter both straightened up as their eyes went to the lightsaber clipped on his belt. The man they were searching for, who hadn't said a word to them since he helped the sand people capture them was right there.

He said something in the sand people tongue and the collected warriors slipped out of the tent, leaving the three of them alone. Biggs managed a smile and tried to think of the best way to start with this. He had so many questions, on the forefront though was what was a famous Jedi Master doing living amongst the sand people.

"You are not the typical riff raff from Tatooine," the Jedi said to them, his face completely unreadable since it remained covered by the typical sand people head coverings and goggles.

"No, we're not," Winter said.

"And that is the only reason you are alive," the Jedi said. "For I seek news of the Empire and I want to know what it is you were doing out here."

"We came to find you," Biggs said.

"Me?" the Jedi's head tilted slightly. "How did you even know I existed?"

"Your former confederate, Bail Organa sent us on a mission to recruit you to the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. He knew you were here."

"Bail Organa?" the Jedi said. "You're lying."

"Lying? No!" Biggs said. "Bail Organa is the leader of the Rebellion! We need your help."

"Bail Organa has no idea I am alive! What trickery is this? How did you know I was here!?"

"We're telling the truth!" Winter said. "You must help us! The Empire is growing too powerful!"

"I must do nothing," the Jedi said and his hand hovered near his lightsaber. "I thought that maybe you were emissaries from the Jedi but now I wonder if you're not Imperial Spies."

"General Kenobi, we swear that we're not-"

"Wait… what did you call me?"

"General Kenobi?" Biggs said. "You are Obi-wan Kenobi the Jedi Knight that served in the clone wars."

"Obi-wan Kenobi," the Jedi's hand trailed away from his lightsaber and his voice drifted away slightly. "Now that's a name I have not heard in a long time… a long time."

"I doubt anybody on this planet would have even heard of you before," Winter said. "But we've been sent to recruit you Master Kenobi."

The Jedi let out a chuckle. "I'm afraid child, you are mistaken. I am not Obi-wan Kenobi."

"What?" Biggs said, though after a moment of shock he realized that he had jumped to that conclusion based purely on seeing the laser sword. "Well then who are you?"

"My name is A'Sharad Hett I was once a Jedi Knight like my father, like General Kenobi, but no longer."

Winter shook her head in disbelief. "Then… where is he? Where is Obi-wan?"

"He's dead," A'Sharad Hett said. "He died some years ago."

Biggs didn't even need to look at Winter to feel her disappointment at the news, he had much the same sinking feeling in his heart as well. Actually more of a plummet in the pit of his stomach than a slow sinking. Either way, the word 'failure' flashed through his mind as he tried to process the news.

"You know this for certain?" Winter finally said. "You can confirm that Obi-wan Kenobi is dead?"

"Have you not heard of the great Jedi Purge child? Do you really think that the Empire would have let such a prominent Jedi Master, a member of the Council no less, live? He died in the Purge… unless you know something different."

Biggs looked to Winter, she didn't smile or make any noise of excitement but the glint in her eyes said everything. Hett didn't know! Which meant their search hadn't ended after all!

"He survived the Purge Master Hett," Winter said. "Bail Organa can confirm as much. He came to Tatooine in exile when he failed to stop the Sith."

"Did he now…" Hett said and began pacing. "He came here… you're certain?" "100%" Winter said.

"Strange that I did not see or sense him then… unless… yes… yes… that would explain things…"

"Explain what?" Biggs said.

Hett turned his head to him then stalked closer. In spite of the face coverings, Biggs could feel the strange Jedi's eyes on him. What was he doing?

"I can see the sands on you boy… she is an offworlder but you… you are a son of the suns are you not?"

"I… am," Biggs finally said. "I'm from the Darklighter famil-"

"Darklighter!" Hett hissed. "Your kind has murdered countless of my kin!"

"Out of self defense!" Biggs said. "We've always tried to steer clear of the Sand People!"

"Ah, the usual excuse," Hett waved a dismissing hand. "Were it not for the more important task at hand I would make an example out of you and send the remains back to your father."

"What task?" Winter said.

"Darklighter," Hett ignored her. "As a resident of these parts, surely you know the legends of the Desert Ghost."

"The Ben Kenobi stories," Biggs nodded.

"That hovel we caught you near… if what you say is true, then Obi-wan may have lived there."

"Really?" Biggs said. "We were almost there?"

"You used the past tense," Winter said. "Why?"

"Because what I said about Kenobi is true. He is dead and his spirit haunts that place."

"What?"

"There is but one place in all the deserts that my people fear to tread," Hett said. "And it is that place. They tell stories of a strange figure that drives all that venture to that place away. Some have even been known to go there and never return."

"What do you mean?" Biggs said. "Isn't it possible that Kenobi lives there and uses his Jedi abilities t o spook anybody that comes near?"

"No, because I have been there," Hett said. "It is an abandoned hovel nothing more. Yet the Force is strong in that place. It is a place of great darkness and even greater sadness. It is a place of the Dark Side of the Force"

"Then it couldn't be Kenobi," Winter said. "He was a devoted Jedi."

"Perhaps when he came to Tatooine, but he must have succumbed to grief over the loss of the Jedi. His presence hauntsthat place, it is the only explanation."

Biggs again turned to Winter and tried not to show it but he feared the Jedi was correct. Every story he knew about Kenobi made him seem like some sort of phantom. Now they were hearing about this place that even the tusken raider's feared to go. It all seemed to gel together.

"Master Hett," Winter said. "We are on a mission vital to the survival of the Rebellion against the Empire. We must go to that dwelling and see for ourselves if Master Kenobi lived there."

"That is impossible," Hett said.

"Why?" Biggs said. "We're not afraid!"

"Your fear toward the dead is of no consequence. You should have feared the Sand People more."

"You're kidding me," Winter said.

"You have violated our lands, attacked our people and disrespected the sacred desert. For that there is but one punishment. You will be executed at dawn."

"You can't do this!" Biggs said. "You don't understand! We have to find Obi-wan!"

"And you will," Hett said as he went to the tent door. "In the Netherworld of the Force."

Nightfall.

Perhaps there had never been such a more blessed thing than nightfall.

The twin suns had sunk below the ridges more than a couple of hours before and the intense heat of the desert slowly drifted away, even leaving enough of a chill that one would consider pulling a blanket over one's shoulders.

Which Leia Organa would be happy to do if she had a blanket, or even a shawl. But as it was, all she had was damaged and broken stormtrooper armor. In the hours of walking in the sun, she'd learned to ignore the pain in her shoulder when the cracked armor would rub against the blast wound she'd received. But she knew she would feel it in the morning.

Her companion would fair much worse she supposed.

He said nothing as he walked ahead of her, but she could see the slight limp in his leg. And the scorch marks all over his armor surely didn't bode well for his over all state of being. In fact he hadn't said a word to her since their escape. No words except for a small, satisfied 'good' when they finally reached the rocks and ridges they'd been walking toward all day.

Now they wound their way slowly amidst jutting stones and loose rocks. Every now and again either she or he would kick an errant stone and send it clacking against the others, causing echoes that made both of them pause and back toward the canyon walls.

Leia's feet ached but she was quite determined to not stop or even ask for a break. The clone had once again saved her life and she owed it to him to let him take the lead in getting them to safety… at least for now.

"We need to find a place to make camp," the clone said abruptly. "Find a cave or something."

"He talks!" Leia said.

"Only when there's something to say," he replied.

Leia shook her head as she looked at him. She'd disregarded her helmet as soon as the sun went down, but he stubbornly refused to take his off, even with half of it burnt to a crisp in the explosion. This guy didn't like to be seen, that much was for sure.

"Well I don't see any caverns nearby," Leia said. "But I'll keep it in mind for later."

"You're going to need to cut your hair," he said as he looked around.

"What?"

"Before we get back to civilization you'll need to cut your hair. The Empire probably thinks you're dead now but we're not going to take the risk of someone recognizing those."

Leia rolled her eyes at the reference to her hair buns but inwardly had to agree with the clone. If they got back to civilization it wouldn't do to be recognized on the spot. Not when they'd been put in the clear with their antics during the escape.

"Where did you get the jet pack anyway?" Leia said, thinking to the way they'd streaked across the desert, half on fire the instant the speeder exploded. No doubt they looked like flying debris to anyone watching.

"Grabbed it just before we got on the shuttle to head planetside. Figured it would come in handy. It did."

"No argument there," Leia said. "You could have told me you had… did you hear that?"

The clone looked around before turning back to her. "Hear what?"

Leia turned her head up to the edge of the ridge surrounding them. "I thought I heard something…"

"Something what?" he took a step closer to her. "A rock falling? A person?"

"It's nothing," Leia said and started walking. "Just the wind."

The clone grabbed her arm, gripping tight enough that Leia almost felt it through her armor.

"What did you hear?"

"My name," she finally said. "I thought I heard someone calling my name."

"Your name."

"I told you it was nothing."

"You didn't hit your head in the escape did you?"

"No! I…"

"What?"

"I…"

"What!?"

"You seriously didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Someone called out to me… I'm supposed to hug the canyon wall."

"You're crazy."

Leia ignored him and walked to the canyon wall, she pushed her hands against the rough stone and then began following close to it, cautious to step over any large rocks that she might see. Not that that was an easy task, no moon or starlight reached this point. All she could do was fumble around a bit hoping to not break her feet against the stone.

"You realize how ridiculous you look."

"Shhh!" Leia said.

"You're seriously going to do what a voice only you can hear tells you to do?"

"Shhh!" Leia whispered as loud as she dared, grabbing the clone and pulling him up to the stones. "Don't say anything, don't do anything! Look up to the ridge, three o'clock."

The clone tilted his head for a moment but then did as he was told. Immediately he straightened his body against the stone. He saw it too. A lone figure up top, and in the glint of the moon, the sight of a blaster barrel could be seen aiming downward at them.

Leia nodded when he looked to her. He then did something that surprised her. He quietly removed his helmet and then began working on the chest piece of his armor. Leia took a breath and then did the same. The white, plastoid armor would give them away easily if it hadn't already. Their only chance was to hope that the potential sniper didn't have night vision and that the black jumpsuits underneath the armor would give them enough cover to hide with.

Once the armor was properly doffed Leia proceeded to follow along the rockface, just liked the voice had instructed her. At this point she didn't question where it came from, not when it led them away from the sniper.

But as they continued she would glance up at the ridge and cringe. The sniper kept following them, aiming the blaster downward every now and again as if to find them. How long would they be followed? Until daylight when they wouldn't be able to hide?

The clone kept a grip on her arm, occasionally pointing to a fallen rock they needed to avoid. At least he did until they came up to the boulder. The massive rock sat right in front of their trail. Too smooth to climb but large enough that if they went around it, they would expose themselves.

Leia searched for any other avenue of escape, any route that might allow them to stay in the shadows but none appeared. She tried to 'listen' for further instructions but nothing came. The clone had put himself on one knee so he could aim his blaster. But Leia knew that the chances of him making the shot would be slim. And give away their position.

She grabbed his shoulder and shook her head but he ignored her and continued to train his blaster on the figure up on the ridge. Leia bit her lip and turned to face the boulder, feeling for any divots or hand holds she might find. She glanced back at the clone who looked ready to pull the trigger.

Below

The voice came to her so suddenly that Leia stiffened up. She didn't wait for further advice, she instantly fell to her knees and groped the ground for… whatever it was that was below.

"Be ready to run," the clone whispered.

"No!" Leia said "Stop… follow me."

She didn't wait to see if he would do as she said. Instead she flattened herself against the ground and pushed forward. Just below a jutting rock formation was a small cavern of some kind. No… not a cavern… a tunnel. It kept going the more Leia pushed forward, noticing the gradual incline even as she also noted how tight it was. With every couple feet forward she could feel it pressing on her back, even making her have to exhale all the breath in her lungs at one point to move.

For a few moments she considered going back but she realized she didn't even know if she could at this point. She might hit the clone and even if she did get back out there… a sniper waited for them. Forward was the only way.

Eventually the incline increased and with it, an opening appeared ahead. Leia did her best to keep her breath calm as she inched upward, feeling as though she might slip at any moment. She tried to listen for blaster fire or for the sound of her companion making his way up the tunnel but she heard nothing.

Finally her fingers clasped the edge of the tunnel and she dragged herself out of the hole. Flopping onto the sand and staring up at the stars. She heaved welcome breaths of fresh desert air before looking first to the horizon, noticing an outcropping of rocks nearby that would shield them from any sniper's view. Then she looked the other way and saw the hovel.

Leia sat up even as she heard the clone nearing. A strange adobe home in the middle of the desert. How did it even get out here?

A strange wind kicked up and Leia thought she heard a humming noise. The clone managed to pull himself out of the hole but Leia was on her feet, staring at the hovel, looking for any sign of life inside. It was as dark as everything else around them.

"What is this place?" the clone said.

"I don't know…" Leia said. "But… it seems somehow familiar…"

"Familiar…what… what does… that…"

Leia turned to him just as he flopped over on his side. She bent down, worried that he might have injured himself somehow but he looked to be simply sleeping. Not just sleeping, but sleeping like the dead. He even snored when she started shaking him.

When nothing she did roused her companion, Leia looked back up to the hovel and felt her breath catch when she spotted a faint blue light through a window.

Forgetting her companion, Leia crept forward, stepping lightly as she approached the hut. For a few moments she considered going back and grabbing the blaster she knew the clone had brought up with him but instead she just kept walking until she reached the doorway.

The first thing she noted was the faded scorch marks. Something had blown this door wide open years ago. She entered into the main room to find a somewhat spartan dwelling place. A couple of chairs, a small table, a kitchen area and another couple of rooms attached to the main one. All of it caked in a layer of dust.

No one had been in this place in years.

She looked around, there were no signs of tracks in the dust save for hers. Not even animal tracks. Nothing dared come in here… except for her. Her eyes went up and she noticed the blaster marks on the ceiling and along the walls. A chair nearby was completely demolished, cut through clean and as if it got in the way of the struggle that had taken place here.

A fight had taken place but she saw no sign that anything had been disturbed otherwise and no sign as to who might have lived here. There certainly wasn't any light in here, she doubted that there was any electricity to be had. She could see no reason why she had been led to this place.

Then her eyes fell to the nearby chest.

Instinctively she knelt beside it and ran her finger over it, cutting a clean line through the dust. She moved her fingers to the edge of the lid and pulled only to find it locked. Leia looked around for a key or something to pry it open but when none appeared she turned her attention back to the lid.

Her eyes spied a series of letters. She ran her hand over it to clear the dust but then jumped back when they lit up in an electronic sequence. It was a security system. One designed to keep the chest locked and only open given the right identification.

And apparently the identification process had begun because the numbers and flashed and processed. Leia leaned up on her feet so she could look out a window. The clone still slept and the night remained completely still.

When she turned her eyes back to the identification system she gasped when she saw it had formed a name. 'Leia Organa'. She heard a click and the lid popped open just a bit. Leia covered her mouth when she realized that a strange box in an abandoned hut, in the middle of a desert world on the outer rim was keyed to identify her!

How was this possible?

Leia hooked her fingers under the rim of the lid and pulled it up. She found no treasures or jewels or anything one might keep in a box with such an intricate locking mechanism. Instead she found old journals, various knick knacks, some clothes, and some strange cubes.

The wind stirred and Leia looked over her shoulder. She was alone. Leia turned back to the box and felt around inside for anything she might have missed. She reached under some robes and her hand found something metallic. Carefully she clasped it then drew it from the box. Instantly recognizing it when she saw it.

A lightsaber.

The weapon of the Jedi.

She looked around again. Was this… was this the home of Obi-wan Kenobi?

The lightsaber felt… warm to the touch for some reason and Leia felt her thumb over the activator switch. She didn't bother to see if anyone was watching, she merely depressed the switch and watched as the cyan blade leaped from the hilt, filling the room with its light… a light not dissimilar to the one she'd seen before she entered the hovel.

Leia gave the lighsaber a couple of experimental swishes before switching it off. Then she nearly dropped it again when she realized the light in the room hadn't faded with it.

The light had not faded because right in front of her stood a translucent figure casting off a bluish glow on the walls around him. Leia almost flicked on the lightsaber again but something about the figure radiated calm. She peered at it and her eyes widened when it took the form of a man. A man dressed in Jedi robes and sporting a beard.

The spirit… or figure or whatever it was approached with a look of infinite calm and even relief on his face. As if he'd been waiting a lifetime for this moment. He held his hands tucked in his robes sleeves as he neared her. Leia had never believed in ghosts but she couldn't deny what was in front of her.

" _Hello Leia_ ," the Jedi said, his voice echoing slightly. " _I can't tell you how glad I am to see you here._ "

"Obi-wan?" she breathed. "Obi-wan Kenobi?"

" _No_ ," he shook his head. " _In life, my name was Qui-gon Jinn. I was Obi-wan's Jedi Master. I have come to you tonight because you, Leia Organa are Obi-wan's only hope._ "


	4. Tales of a Lost Knight

"Obi-wan Kenobi needs my help?" Leia said.

The ghostly Jedi merely nodded.

"I came here to Tatooine looking for him," Leia said. "I need _his_ help! Now you're telling me that something has happened to him?"

" _Look around you Leia_ ," Qui-gon said. " _What do you see_?"

Leia raised a brow then reluctantly did as she was told. Who was she to argue with a ghost? Her eyes went straight to the carbon scoring on the walls from the blaster shots, as well as the long scorch marks that she now recognized as lightsaber burns. Her mind came to the same conclusion she'd reached when she first entered the hovel.

"There was a struggle, a fight," Leia said. "A fight between General Kenobi and an unknown attacker."

" _Again you are correct_ ," the ghost said.

For a moment she almost went to her next question, but instead she just shook her head and then peered at the spirit in front of her. "I don't understand what's going on. You said that in life you were Qui-gon Jinn, how can you be speaking to me from beyond the grave?"

" _All things are possible through the Force_ ," Qui-gon said. " _And though I accepted my death at the hands of a Sith Lord, I did not become one with the Force, for I had learned how to retain my individuality upon death. It is known as the Way of the Whills._ "

"But you _are_ dead?"

" _The Force is Life, but in terms that are relevant to your understanding, yes_."

"Is… is Obi-wan Kenobi dead?"

At this the spirit furrowed his brows and sighed. " _I do not believe so_."

"You don't believe so?" Leia said. "You mean you don't know?"

The spirit regarded her for a second then sighed. " _Even though I am one with the Force, my sight is not infinite. I cannot sense Obi-wan in the Force, it is though he simply isn't there._ "

"Then he is dead."

" _No_ ," Qui-gon shook his head. " _If he was dead I would have felt his passing. I would have felt him join with the Force. Instead, when I search out for my padawan, I sense… nothing._ "

"So Obi-wan is just… gone," Leia said. "Gone with the possibility that he might be dead but you can't tell."

" _Essentially yes_ ," Qui-gon said.

"Well that's great," Leia pursed her lips. "Some kind of spirit guide you are."

The corner of Qui-gon's mouth quirked up in a smile and he let out a small chuckle. Leia could only blink at the sight. She was having a conversation with a dead Jedi and he was amused by her sarcasm. This was beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

" _While I do not know what has become of Obi-wan I can tell you some of what happened here, though you ascertained much already_."

"He was attacked… by who? How long ago?"

" _Some seventeen years ago, while Obi-wan had just begun his exile, he was caught unawares by a battle droid of some kind. The fight was brief for Obi-wan had been in the middle of mediation, learning the Way of the Whills, and this was like no droid ever seen before_."

"The droid took him then?"

" _I believe it did_ ," Qui-gon said. " _Though where to I cannot say. I followed his presence until he simply vanished from my sight_."

"Seventeen years?" Leia said. "Obi-wan has been missing for seventeen years? And in all of that time you could not find him?"

" _I searched for him as well as I could, even communed with a fellow Jedi and the Force itself but to no avail. The Dark Side clouds everything. When I realized that I could not find him in this form I resolved to return here and tie myself to this place. To protect it from intruders and continue to Obi-wan's vigil_."

"It was you that I heard," Leia said. "You guided me here."

" _And I put your companion to sleep so that we may commune uninterrupted_."

Leia sighed and sat herself down on the chest. "Well at least I can thank you for that. I'm not sure what my father was thinking in hiring that man."

To her surprise, the spirit took a few steps and then 'sat' next to her on the chest, holding is hands on his knees. Leia pursed her lips as she noticed she could see right through his legs to the chest and floor below.

" _Your father did what he felt was necessary to save you. And now it is for you to do what is necessary to save Obi-wan_ ," Qui-gon said.

"I can't," Leia shook her head. "I came to this place because I needed _his_ help! The Empire has created a weapon of such horrific power… I fear that only with the aid of a Jedi will we be able to stop it!"

" _I am well aware that it was not in your mind to have to rescue a Jedi Master but that is the hand you have been dealt. All of us have a destiny Leia, it is up to us to decide if we will answer the call or not_."

"But you don't understand, I can't leave Tatooine until I've recovered the data we stole from the Empire. If I don't complete my mission the Empire will be unstoppable," Leia said.

" _That's your pragmatic side talking_ ," Qui-gon said. " _But believe me when I say that rescuing Obi-wan is of the utmost importance, even more important than finding your droids._ "

"Even if I decided to go looking for him, how am I going to find him?" Leia said. "You're the spirit of a deceased Jedi Master and you couldn't find him!"

" _The Force will guide you_ ," Qui-gon said. " _If you listen, It will tell you what you need to do in order to find Obi-wan and save the Galaxy_."

"The Force?" Leia said. "I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm the daughter of the Royal family of Alderaan, I'm a senator in the Imperial Senate and I serve the Rebel Alliance, but I know nothing of the Force."

" _You are the_ adopted _daughter of the House of Alderaan_ ," Qui-gon said. " _Your father was a powerful Jedi Knight. You have inherited his gifts and connection to the Force. If you can but still your mind, you will feel it calling to you, just as that lightsaber, your father's lightsaber, felt warm to the touch._ "

"My father?" Leia said. "You knew my father?"

" _Yes_ ," Qui-gon said as his voice grew wistful. " _He was a brave boy, kind and compassionate. One of the finest pilots I've ever known and always willing to give without thinking of himself_."

"I've… I've never heard anything about my father," Leia scooted closer to the phantom. "What happened to him?"

Qui-gon's eyes trailed from her to the window, where the night's sky was beginning to grow a pale blue. Dawn was coming. He sighed and then stood and faced her.

" _Time is growing short_ ," he said. " _Your destiny lies at a crossroads today Leia_. _You will have a choice to make, the outcome of neither is certain and both carry a terrible price. On the one path you can save your droids but you will risk the complete destruction of the Jedi and the last hope of the Old Republic. On the other path you will risk the Empire gaining access to the stolen plans but will lead you to Obi-wan and the return of the Jedi. You must choose_."

"I can't make a choice like that! Tell me which one I should do!" Leia stood but already the spirit was going more translucent, harder to see.

" _Trust in your instincts Leia_ ," Qui-gon said as his voice began to echo further. " _I have waited seventeen years for this day and now it is come and I can release myself from this place_."

"Qui-gon! You can't leave yet!" Leia rushed at the spirit but he simply vanished.

" _The Force will be with you Leia. Always_."

* * *

Even sitting in a thick canvas tent, with no exposed sunlight, Biggs knew dawn was approaching. Growing up in the desert you always knew when the heat was starting to change, when light was just beginning to brighten up around you. As a boy he always dreaded the sunrise because it meant getting up with the twin suns and starting to work on the moisture farm. Now… he'd trade even the worst day of farming for this.

He and Winter had said very little to each other in the course of the night. Partially because if they spoke too loudly, a guard would come in and threaten them, at one point even throwing Biggs around a bit. The other reason they spoke little was no more complicated than the fact that they could very well be dead in the morning and neither really knew how to handle it.

Sure, in the service of the Alliance they'd both faced death countless times, but never pending execution. Before it was always the outside possibility of death that just hovered over them, waiting for them to get sloppy or unlucky; now they actually had a deadline.

But with dawn coming and no plan in his own mind as to how to escape, Biggs knew he had to say something.

"They'll be coming for us soon," he said.

"Yes," Winter nodded.

"Um… do you have any ideas on… I mean… there's got to be a way out of this."

"Of course there is. Unfortunately that would appear to be death."

"Okay… sorry I asked."

"I had supplies I normally conceal on my person that would aid in escape," Winter said. "But they were in the speeder when we were captured and I didn't have time to retrieve them."

"What about this Hett fellow?" Biggs said. "There has to be a way to reason with him."

"I don't have to be a Jedi to tell when someone's gone off his rocker. We'd have as much luck reasoning with the desert. All we can do is wait."

"Wait until they kill us?"

"Possibly, or wait until an opportunity for escape presents itself."

"Well I don't want to wait around for them to come and bash my brains in!" Biggs said. "What if I hide by the door flap and then jump the guard when he comes in?"

"Typical flyboy," Winter said. "They left our gear at the speeder, we have no weapons and even if you could overpower the guards, we still have an entire tribe of sand people that would be attacking us, not to mention a crazed Jedi. You need to learn a thing or two about patience."

"I don't have that much time left to learn _anything_ ," Biggs said. "Winter, we have to-"

The door flap waved open and A'Sharad Hett entered, cutting Biggs short. With him, stood a small group of warriors; clearly an execution squad given the way they held their gaffi sticks. Biggs stood but immediately he felt his throat clench together and he struggled to breathe. The next thing he knew his feet dragged off the ground and he hovered a few inches above the ground.

"Let him go!" Winter was also on her feet, only stopped by a pair of gaffi sticks crossing in front of her.

"I could sense the violence in his heart, he was going to attack," Hett said then loosened his hand and Biggs dropped to the dirt. The guards then allowed Winter to push past them so she could reach him.

"Master Jedi," Winter said as she checked Bigg's for sign of injury. "I beg you on behalf of the Rebel Alliance to let us go! You don't have to kill us."

"The laws of my people demand it," Hett said. "For too long have I remained passive, content to maintain an uneasy peace with the outlanders. Once, I had further aspirations but a vision in the Force stopped me. Perhaps it was Kenobi. Now I feel as though those compunctions are gone."

"What… what do you mean?" Biggs managed to sit up.

"The outlanders and the Empire have tarnished this planet for too long. I intend to rally the Children of the Sand and drive them all off."

"You're crazy," Winter said. "You're going to drive the Empire off with a bunch of desert nomads?"

"And the Force," Hett said. "This morning we will inaugurate our campaign by spilling your blood upon the sand. My scouts have already indicated a rival tribe is close by, we will recruit them with tales of your death then we will begin with the outlying moisture farms."

"Luke…" Biggs muttered then turned his gaze back on Hett. "Can't you see that we are trying to get rid of the Empire too?"

"Only to replace it with another regime," Hett said. "No, I'm through debating, and waiting. You will either come with me now or you will be killed on the spot."

Biggs and Winter exchanged glances but knowing they had little choice, the two stood and could only watch each other helplessly as their hands were bound again by the leather cords. All the while Hett tapped his hand against his lightsaber like something about the entire proceeding made him nervous.

Once they were bound, the guards pushed them until they fell into a single file line with them and exited the tent. One of Tatooine's suns barely poked up over the horizon and the tuskens led them through the maze of different tents until they came to a central area where the entire tribe gathered.

The moment they entered the circle the tuskens lit up in a roar, pumping their fists in the air and howling as loud as they could. Hett held his gaffi over his head and the sand people only cheered more. Even with his face covered, the captives could tell that he was soaking it up.

Hett took his gaffi stick up in both hands and the crowd silenced. The guards then grabbed Biggs and Winter and shoved them front and center. Hett walked circles around them, all the while grunting and growling out something in their language. He had to stop a few times when the crowd erupted into cheers and waved their weapons in the air.

Finally Hett turned back to them and gestured with his gaffi. Biggs almost decided to make a run for it, but he knew that he wouldn't make it more than a few steps and he couldn't just abandon Winter. But still he cursed himself a little, always hoping that when he died he actually would have been smart enough to figure a way out of it.

The guards pushed them to their knees and Hett howled again, gripping his gaffi at the ready. But before he could go any further Winter stood up. The guards rushed at her but Hett held out his hand and they stopped.

"Master Jedi," Winter said. "I… you've obviously rendered your judgment against us and intend to carry out the sentence yourself, a very noble gesture. While I have no wish to die and carry no love for you as my executioner I can at least appreciate the nobility of performing the act yourself…"

"Indeed," Hett said. "But you didn't stand to tell me this."

"No," Winter said. "I stood because I want to ask… beg even for a last request. Surely you can grant me that."

"Depends on what it is."

"I only wish to say goodbye to my comrade."

"Do you think I'm a fool? I know trickery when I see it."

"No trick," Winter said. "You can stand next to us with your gaffi ready and listen to every word."

Hett considered this then glanced to the warriors nearest him. After a moment of consideration he turned to them and muttered something, then he moved to the crowed and bellowed loudly. When he finally turned back to them, amid howls and shouts from the sand people, he simply gave Winter a nod of the head.

Biggs watched as Winter knelt down in front of him and his mind raced with thoughts of what she actually intended to do. Was this really a good bye? Where they going to try and make a break for it themselves? His mind drew a blank.

"Darklighter," she said as she scooted a little closer to him, taking his hands in hers. "I want you to know that even though we've only known each other for a short amount of time… I really don't like you very much."

Biggs paused for a moment, noticing Hett leaning forward and chuckling for a bit. "Well… thanks? My feelings of general dislike toward you run fairly deep as well."

"You're so sweet," Winter cooed then leaned in so their faces were only a few inches from each other. "But here's the thing, even though I haven't cared for you much… I've never been kissed and… I don't want to die without ever feeling the touch of another on my lips."

"You're jok-"

Biggs only managed to get that much out as Winter's lips crashed against his. For a second his eyes remained wide open and he could hear the sand people shrieking all sorts of noises he couldn't comprehend. Then he felt his face warm and he started leaning into the kiss as well. Which was also the exact time he felt his bonds being cut.

Winter broke the kiss and flattened her face on the side of his, panting deeply. He managed to look down to see a small bone knife in her hands. When did she get that?

"Hett," she whispered in his ear. "Lightsaber. Now."

Biggs didn't wait even half a second. The moment Winter's face cleared his he rushed headlong at the deranged Jedi with Winter charging at him from the other side, her knife leading the way.

Perhaps if things had been allowed to play out from there, they may have succeeded in their attack. Very likely they wouldn't have because Hett was already drawing his lightsaber. The reflexes of a Jedi still remained virtually unmatched after all. But the Force had other plans for A'Sharad Hett that day.

Because Biggs and Winter never even reached him. The moment they put themselves on their feet, the entire camp rocked with an explosion; an explosion that brought with it accompanying blaster fire. In that instant, Biggs, Winter, and Hett all joined together in shock and confusion.

Shock and confusion that flew away the instant they saw the stormtroopers rushing into the village, blasting anything that moved. Over head TIE fighters screamed and dropped charges. Bigg's scarcely could take in the idea that he'd ever actually welcome an Imperial Raid.

"What have you done!?" Hett turned on them. "You've led the Empire here!"

"What? No! That's-" Biggs said but the deranged Jedi was already coming at him.

Winter lashed out at once, her hands moving almost lightning fast as she slashed at the Jedi's chest. Hett, while still in mid-swing at Biggs, could do little to fend off her attack save for jutting out his elbow. The blow was successfully deflected but Winter's momentum kept her, and the blade going forward and upward.

Hett jerked back and howled in pain as the blade slashed upside his face, splitting his head coverings. Biggs, in the meantime, had used the distractions to dodge out of the way and grip Hett's wrists. Blaster fire erupted all around them and as the head coverings fell away from Hett's face, Biggs managed to wrest the lightsaber from his grasp.

"Darklighter come on!" Winter said.

The stormtroopers were advancing, getting closer to their position. As deadly as the sand people were, Biggs had no desire to trade one captor for another. He made to run but Hett tackled him, pounding on him, trying to strangle him; his face now fully revealed, scarred and worn with age.

In an act of desperation, Biggs fumbled with the lightsaber, all the while Hett shrieked at him with a scream more inhuman and animalistic than anything that might have come out of the mouths of the sand people he claimed to be a part of. Winter charged at him but he flattened a hand out and sent her flying backward. Biggs scrambled to get away but Hett smashed a fist against his head gripped his throat with his bare hands.

Biggs could have screamed to see the man's eyes a sudden shade of yellow… almost not human anymore. He felt his neck popping around the man's fingers and he strained to get any oxygen past them. His thumb finally found the activator switch on the lightsaber and he mashed it down, at this point not caring which way the blade shot out of.

The green laser fired straight up, severing Hett's hand from his arm. The mad Jedi reeled back howling and clutching the stump where his hand had been. Desperate fingers suddenly gripped Biggs from behind and he whirled back but froze when he saw it was Winter.

"We have to go while the Empire is focused on the sand people!" she said. "They're stealing gaffi sticks and Bantha's but two humans will stand out."

Biggs nodded and pulled himself to his feet. Together the pair broke out into a sprint and Biggs paused just long enough to see Hett screaming out to his people for help, but them ignoring him altogether. A deep foreboding formed in the center of his stomach and he found himself wondering if it wouldn't have been better if he'd plunged the lightsaber through the man's heart.

* * *

He hated this assignment. He hated everything about it. He'd come to the conclusion well before now. He came to that conclusion from pretty much the first time he'd spoken to that uppity princess. And it all went downhill from there. At every step of the way she fought him, caused them to get into more trouble and further from actually getting her home and getting her paid.

Those were essentially his first thoughts as he woke up, feeling the already blazing Tatooine suns on him. He had no idea how long he'd been out or more importantly, why he'd gone to sleep in the first place. All he knew was it was now mid morning and he was sprawled on the sand, exposed to any one that might want to do him in. Like the sniper.

The _Sniper_!

He rolled over and surveyed his surroundings. A ridge of rocks lined the canyon in front of him, he wasn't exposed to sniper bolts. At least that was good news. Now he just had to figure out what in space was going on.

A sharp desert wind hit him as he turned around and laid his eyes on the adobe hut. Instantly his memory shot back to his last conscious thoughts. That crazy princess had led them there! Then he'd just… zeroed out. The wind gusted past him again and he had to blink away bits of sand as he looked at the hut and watched someone immerge.

In spite of breathing causing him to inhale bits of sand, he almost gasped when through irritated eyes he watched a Jedi exit the hovel. It had been a long time since he'd seen a Jedi but he recognized one when he saw one. Brown outer robe, hearty leather boots, sand colored robes.

Instantly he fumbled for his blaster but realized it wasn't strapped to his belt as he had to remove it to climb up the secret tunnel. He blinked away more sand and only then did he recognize the 'jedi'.

"What the hell are you dressed like that for?" he said.

"It seemed appropriate," Leia said and he narrowed his eyes at her. She then sighed and shook her head. "It was in a chest in this hovel. I decided that I preferred this to walking across the desert in nothing but a torn black body suit or battered stormtrooper armor."

"You just happened to find Jedi Robes in a chest in an abandoned hut in the middle of the desert…"

"I believe they were intended for me, or at least someone close to my size," Leia said. "It would appear that the original owner of this hut had some forethought."

"Original owner… what are you babbling about?"

Leia hesitated for a moment, her eyes even went to his blaster lying in the sand. But in the end she just shrugged. "Let us be open with each other yes? I will tell you everything about this hut and its previous occupier if you just level with me and tell me who the hell you actually are."

"You know who I am. I'm a clone."

"Yes you're a clone, but you're not just any clone. At first I wondered if you were Captain Rex as his whereabouts during the end of the Clone Wars was unknown. But the more I've known you, the more I doubt you were ever part of the clone army."

"Fine," he said. "It seems you've already put a lot of it together. I'm Fett, Boba Fett."

"The bounty hunter."

"Correct."

"My father hired one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy to rescue me."

"Your father may be a fool to think he could fight the Empire, but he isn't an idiot, he knew I was your best chance and he was more than willing to shell out the creds to bust you from the Empire. Now tell me who this hut belongs to."

"When we get off this planet my father will have much to explain to me. You have caused a great deal of trouble and pain to the Alliance."

"And now the Alliance is paying me to save its ass," Fett said. "Now who lived here?"

"Obi-wan Kenobi," she said. "Or at least it did."

_Kenobi_! Fett's mind jumped in surprise but he kept his face as passive as he possibly could. This was definitely a moment that he wished he could have his face covered as it usually was. Just so he didn't have disguise his facial expressions. Particularly because of what thoughts the idea of meeting Kenobi created in his brain.

Mace Windu may have been his father's killer, but Kenobi certainly played a role. If that Jedi hadn't meddled and chased them out of Kamino, they never would have been in a place where his father would have faced Windu.

In short… Fett had a sore place in his heart for Kenobi and now he was standing where the old Jedi had lived… which meant he'd survived the Purge. At least for a time. Assuming the princess hadn't gone officially bonkers.

"What makes you think that this belonged to Kenobi?" Fett said. "Could just be some random desert hovel."

In response, Leia cleared one side of her robes away and revealed a lightsaber dangling from her belt. Fett narrowed his eyes, not believing it for a second. As if to drive home her point, Leia drew the weapon and ignited the blue blade. Fett's eyes trailed toward the blaster again but by the time he looked back she'd deactivated it.

"Okay… so this home belonged to a Jedi," Fett said. "And you got yourself some souvenirs. Still doesn't change anything. We still need to get off this rock and I still want to know what the hell happened last night."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Leia said. "And right now I don't have time to convince you of the things I've seen and heard. Come on, into the hut, Kenobi kept some armor that may fit you."

Fett could only watch as Leia made her way into the hut and surveyed it before motioning for him to follow her. He shook his head, picked up this blaster and went after her. Something was very different about her now and he couldn't place it.

Once inside the hut he took a cursory look around to find it dusty but fairly well preserved. He would have expected an abandoned shack to have been gutted by scavengers and the elements but apart from Leia's footprints it didn't look like anyone had entered this place in years.

"There was a battle here," Fett said as he ran his finger along a lightsaber scorch on the wall. "Kenobi against some attacker? No body, so we can assume he survived at least long enough to leave the building."

"The armor is over here," Leia motioned to another room.

Fett nodded but his eyes kept darting about as he picked apart the dwelling for any clues as to what exactly had transpired. Once in the adjoining room he assessed the armor Leia had discovered. Mostly it was Jedi Issue armor that saw use in the Clone Wars. It wasn't much, such armor was designed to be sparse and only cover the most vital of areas as to allow maximum mobility for Jedi acrobatics. But among that there was also a helmet, one of ubese design by the looks of it.

All in all he would have preferred his own get up, or even the stormtrooper armor, but this was going to have to do. After a few minutes he managed to find the pieces of armor he wished to use, as well as finding a pair of boots that most certainly had belonged to Kenobi, Fett immerged to find Leia fiddling with an old comlink.

"Careful with that," Fett said. "That's a Hush 98 by the looks of it. It should be in a museum."

"Like everything else in this place," Leia said. "I've cleared dust out of its circuits and its powercell seems to be working, it just needs to self-charge. Hopefully when it's up and running we can make contact with someone."

"You know a lot of rebels on this dustball girl?" Fett said.

"No but surely there's someone nearby that will be sympathetic to two people lost in the desert, a moisture farmer perhaps."

"If you say so," Fett said then looked around. "You better pray you're right, you may have found us clothes but we still need water if we're going to survive out here."

"One thing at a time," Leia said as she fiddled with the comlink.

"I'm going to go scout about," Fett said. "See if I can't find a trace of our sniper last… what's this?"

"What are you talking-" Leia started but was interrupted by the comlink suddenly sparking to life with static and a voice.

" _Hello? Hello is anyone out there?"_ a male voice said.

Fett gestured for Leia to give him the device but she just turned her back to him and answered.

"Hello?" Leia said. "Can you hear me?"

" _Yes… thank heavens! We need help_!"

"Okay, slow down, who is this?"

" _My name is Biggs Darklighter, we're on the run from the sand people and we're stranded_."

Fett walked up next to Leia. "Who's _we_?"

Instead of getting an answer there was a rustling on the other end and both could overhear some hushed arguing then nothing. For a second Fett wondered if they lost the signal but the transmission light indicated the comlink was still active.

" _Hello_ ," a female voice came. " _This is Winter, my companion is overstating our need. Might I ask who we're talking to_?"

"Winter!" Leia said. "Winter it's me! It's Leia!"

" _Leia!"_

_"Princess Leia_?" Biggs could be heard repeating.

"Winter where are you?" Leia said.

"We're… in the middle of the desert! Can't say where… the what? The Jundland Wastes. We were captured by sand people looking for you but have escaped. We managed to get to what's left of our speeder and recover some of our gear but we're being chased by sand people. Where are you?"

"Some hut near some canyons," Leia said. "If I can find a map or something maybe I can find you."

" _A hut! You mean Ben Kenobi's hut_?" Biggs could be heard saying.

"Leia, we're not far from you! Just a few kilometers southwest! We'll come to you!"

" _No we'll come to you_!" Leia said.

"Negative we-" Winter started but the roar of the sand people could be heard on the comlink and suddenly the signal scrambled.

Leia tried in vain to reestablish it but to no avail. When it became obvious that it wouldn't work she looked to Fett and then rushed out of the hut. He followed her shaking his head. So the Alliance's contacts had somehow bungled their way into the desert. Fantastic.

"We need to help them," Leia said. "If we run we can-"

Again she was interrupted. By a girlish scream not far off. Fett drew his blaster but Leia held an expression of shock and surprise. She held her hand up as the canyon below them echoed with the sound of metal crashing, sand people screaming and terrified beeps and boops.

"Artoo and Threepio!" Leia said and made to run toward the sound but then froze.

"What's going on?" Fett said.

Leia made to go the opposite direction then back toward the sound of the ruckus. Her brows furrowed and she bit her bottom lip while her fingers threaded together nervously.

"Tell me what's happening!" Fett said.

"I have to make a choice!" Leia said.

"What?"

"The fate of the Alliance or the fate of the Jedi," she muttered.

* * *

"Well, there are two banthas down there, but I don't see…" Luke said to C3P0. "… Wait a second. They're sand people alright I can see one of them now."

Almost as if waiting for Luke to finish his sentence, a tusken raider rose up from the rocks, blurring itself directly in front of the macrobinocular view. By the time Luke could look up at it, Threepio had fallen off the ridge giving out a girlish scream and the tusken raider howled in rage.

Luke did his best to avoid getting his head bashed open but it was no use. The last thing he remembered was seeing the tusken brandishing it's gaffi and going in for another strike. From there… things got murky.

He remembered hearing a lot of grunts and groans, he had the distinct impression of being carried then thrown onto the rocky ground and more grunting. Desperately he tried to rouse himself, tried to regain his faculties but his vision was clouded with pain and dizziness. Off… somewhere else he heard the sound of small items being tossed around and dropped to the rock.

Slowly he opened his eyes, straining against the pain to see the sand people arguing over the stuff he kept in his speeder. He tried to piece together a plan, an idea of what to do but his head still swam.

Then one of the sand people noticed him and started approaching with its gaffi in hand. Luke struggled to get away but his limbs protested every movement. Rough hands found his hair and he managed to get his eyes open long enough to see a bone dagger coming out. Thoughts of his Uncle and the horrible things they'd said to each other flooded his brain as he realized he was about to die.

But death never came.

Not for Luke anyway.

A blaster shot rang out and the fingers gripping his hair slacken as the tuske raider that assaulted him fell away with a hole in its head. The other tuskens roared but met a similar fate. One Luke didn't see die as it ran past him but he heard a snap/hiss and then a death howl from the tusken.

Again Luke tried to move, and this time had slightly better success but his head still felt like it was stuffed with cobwebs and he still had to blink from the pain every time he opened his eyes. He heard a feminine voice talking to Artoo, assuring him everything would be alright.

Then he felt soft hands touch his brow and the pain subsided a bit. Enough for him to look up at his savior. Had he not already been fairly incoherent he might have tried to think of something smart or brave to say. As it was, he could only stare up at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"Rest easy friend," she said. "You've had a busy day."

Luke sat up. "Who… who are you?"

"The name is Mara Jade, these your droids?"


	5. Leia's Choice

"I can't tell you how glad I am to that you came!" Luke said as he sat up. "I thought I was dead for sure."

"Well lucky for you I was here," Mara Jade said. "I don't know much about these sand people but they looked like they were about to spill your brains all over the rocks."

"They might have," Luke said as he turned his eyes onto the bodies. Part of him recoiled at the sight of the dead sand people, but this woman had saved him so he wasn't going to dwell on the violent method she used to do it.

"So what are you doing so far out here that little old me had to save you?" Mara said with a disarming smile.

"This little droid," Luke nodded at Artoo, who still cowered under a small rocky alcove. "I think he's searching for his former master, but I've never seen such devotion in a droid before. He claims to be the property of an Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Mara said with a touch of shock in her voice.

"I thought he might mean old Ben Kenobi, a legend in these parts."

"That's... That's really interesting," Mara said. "How long have you had these droids?"

"About a day," Luke shrugged. "We bought them off some Jawas. The little one here started acting weird right away. He played a recording of some princess and then tricked me into removing his restraining bolt. Not my smartest move I guess."

"Probably not," Mara said as her hand trailed down to her belt, near her blaster.

"I'm sorry," Luke said, finally remembering the manners Aunt Beru drilled into him. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker?" Mara's eyes widened again and hr hand left her belt to comb through her hair. "Famous last name."

"It is?" Luke raised a brow. "I always figured it was fairly common."

"The only Skywalker I ever heard of was Anakin Skywalker."

"Well, wait a minute" Luke said, scratching the back of his head. "That was my father's name, but he wasn't famous. My uncle always told me he was a navigator on a spice freighter."

"A spice freighter?" Mara said, almost laughing. "Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight that fought in the Clone Wars!"

"The Clone Wars?" Luke said. "We can't be talking about the same guy."

"I'll admit I have a hard time imagining it," Jade gave him a once over.

Around this time Luke decided to look at her, really look at her. The green eyes and red hair were certainly fetching and they're what had held his attention during their conversation but now he noticed the desert gear, the customized blaster, and the sniper rifle strapped to her back. This was a woman ready for action. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if telling his life story was the best idea. But he quickly countered that bad logic with the fact that she saved his life only moments before.

"All I know about my father is that he died around the end of the Clone Wars in a shuttle accident, I've never even heard of an Anakin Skywalker that was a Jedi General."

"He was a cunning warrior by all accounts," Mara said. "And one of the best star pilots in the galaxy."

"I'm not too shabby behind the controls of a ship myself," Luke said.

"Well that settles it," Mara said with a wink. "You must be the unknown offspring of a Jedi!"

"I was serious," Luke said. "I mean… nevermind."

"You really think that you could actually be _that_ Anakin Skywalker's son?" Jade said.

"I don't know…" Luke shook his head. "I always believed what my Uncle told me but out of the blue you tell that someone with the exact same name existed and… maybe…"

"Well, General Skywalker did die at the end of the Clone Wars," Mara said.

"Do you know how?"

"No," Mara said. "Though I've visited the Jedi Temple and taken the Imperial Tour there, they say that Skywalker died along with the rest of the Jedi when they rose up against the Senate to seize control the Old Republic. Back in the dark times before the Empire."

"Before the Empire?" Luke muttered, again that doubt about his rescuer resurfaced but his mind had latched onto the idea of his father being a Jedi Knight. "You don't sound certain about that? You think he may have died another way?"

"Well it's just a story I've heard," Mara said. "I've heard tale that Skywalker remained loyal to the Emperor and that, and this is the interesting part, he was killed by one of the Jedi. Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Luke said.

"Yes, some say he betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker."

"But I thought… I thought the Jedi were the good guys."

"Well I'm not surprised, this is the ass end of space, you guys probably think that the Rebellion is-"

A rock fell nearby, causing the canyon walls to echo with the clacking of stone on stone. Mara had her hand on her blaster and she looked around. Luke fumbled around for something that he might fight with but the sand people had destroyed his rifle.

"I think we better get going," Mara said. "I'm good in a fight but I don't want to take on a whole swarm of those sand people."

"Okay," Luke said then looked to Artoo. "Get in the speeder and get it primed to leave, we have to get Threepio."

"Hurry," Mara said. "I feel like we're being watched."

"Watched?" Luke said. "More sand peop-"

A bolt of blaster fire shot down from the rocks above and cut him off, its report echoed on the canyon walls. Both Mara and Luke dove behind the speeder as another shot rang out. The pair sat like that for a second, practically on top of one another before Mara slipped her own blaster from her holster and handed it to Luke. After giving him a nod she pulled the rifle off of her back.

"Please tell me you know how to shoot!"

"Who's shooting at us!?" Luke said.

"Hell if I know!" Mara said as she began disassembling parts of it. "Just lay down some suppressing fire for a second! I'm not going to have time to aim with this thing like this, I need to compact it."

Luke nodded and took a breath. Another shot whizzed past their heads and he spun around and pumped out several blasts in the direction of the blaster fire. Blaster bolts lit up the rock walls, leaving smoking holes but Luke didn't wait to see if he'd made any of his shots, instead he ducked back down, just in time to miss getting hit by returned fire. This time from another blaster altogether.

"Great," he said. "Now they're two of them. Are you almost done?"

"Got it!" Mara said as she removed the stock of the blaster rifle then whirled around and opened fire in a rapid barrage. Luke did so as well, this time managing to get a look at one of their attackers; someone in a helmet and armor. Definitely not sand people.

A shot nearly hit Mara and she ducked down, Luke followed suit but not before firing off one more shot. They looked to each other, both breathing heavily from the pressure and the heat. Mara made to go for another round but multiple shots rained from above. Each time one of them started poking their heads or hands over the shots would come again.

Luke glanced over at Mara who was counting for some reason, then she nodded to herself and rolled over and fired blindly. Her shot apparently had some effect because the blaster fire coming at them stopped. Luke knelt up and aimed his blaster the direction the shots had been coming from.

"I didn't hit him," Mara said then fired at some rocks, Luke saw him a second later too, the helmeted guy was just ducking behind a rock, waiting for another opening to strike. Instantly Luke opened fire too, both he and Mara now pinning down at least one of their attackers.

Then something happened. Luke… felt something. A strange… tingling in the back of his neck. He couldn't say he'd never felt it before, but never this strong. It felt familiar like he was meeting a long lost friend or relative. Even though he kept firing his eyes trailed away to a nearby outcropping of rocks above them. The more he looked the more the idea formed in his mind that there was something… someone looking at him from there.

He was about to turn his attention back to their first target but he caught a ghost of movement in the corner of his eye, right where he had been looking. He saw a blaster rifle being aimed at Mara. Without thinking he whirled about and fired at the outcropping. He heard a shout and the blaster rifle that had been targeting his ally flew from the would-be attacker's hands.

For a moment he paused as he saw the assassin. Brown cloak, with a hood covering the face, sandy colored inner robes. The attacker scrambled to recover his weapon but Luke knew he couldn't let up. He pumped another shot right at him, knowing that this time he would down the target.

Then, almost too fast for him to realize what happened, there was a flash of light and the attacker drew a laser sword. The next instant Luke could only blink as the blaster bolt he intended for his target ricocheted back at him.

He didn't have time to dodge, he didn't have time to duck, he didn't even have time to cry out. The blaster bolt caught him square in the shoulder and sent him sprawling on his back. Mara didn't even spare him a glance. Instead she locked her eyes on the cloaked figure that had struck him down.

In the next instant a crimson lightsaber of her own erupted from Mara's hands and she began knocking the blaster fire back at their attackers. Luke, in spite of the pain, crawled over to the edge of the speeder and dragged himself in. R2 wailed in terror from his spot in the back seat as Luke rolled into the driver's position.

Blaster bolts came close to hitting him as he activated the speeder but Mara batted them away and dove into the speeder. Luke managed one last look back at the cloaked figure before he gunned the engine and the pair zipped out of the canyon and out of harm's way.

* * *

"Dammit!" Fett said the instant the speeder shot out of the canyon.

He had tried shooting out the engines from the moment the boy lurched into the damn thing but the karking assassin was better trained than he could possibly have guessed. The Empire had put the highest priority on catching the Princess it seemed. Just his luck, he put himself on the wrong side this time.

Off to the side he heard Leia deactivate the lightsaber and he pulled himself up and walked over to her. He still couldn't believe that she had managed to deflect that blaster shot, especially considering that the kid hadn't been a half bad shot. And this was what bothered him, the jedi robes, the damn lightsaber, all the talk about Obi-wan Kenobi. This wasn't good.

"Alright Princess," he said. "You're going to tell me right now how the hell you blocked that shot, what happened last night at Kenobi's hut and what the hell you did that has the Empire sending a lightsaber trained assassin after you."

"Come on," Leia didn't even bother looking at him as she started making her way down to the canyon floor. "We need to see if there's anything down there we can use to figure out who they were and how to follow them."

"Did you hear me?"

"Of course I did," Leia said. "But I don't see any reason to engage you in that conversation. Not when they got away along with the Astromech droid. It has what I'm after."

"And what is that?"

"Stolen imperial data," she glanced back. "And just to clear things up, I blocked that shot by pure luck, nothing else."

With that the princess put her back to him and inched her way down the canyon until she was standing on the floor below. Fett could do nothing more at this point but grind his teeth follow after her and remind himself how much he was getting paid to do this.

"There are dead sand people all around here," Fett said. "Might be able to find some banthas neaby."

Leia nodded but didn't say anything as at that very moment a new voice joined theirs in the canyon. Fett drew his blaster as soon as he heard it but Leia planted a hand on his weapon and pushed it down.

"H…hello? Is anyone there? Help! I fallen and am damaged! Someone please help me!"

"It's a protocol droid," Leia said then went after the voice.

It didn't take them long to find the golden droid, lying in a heap on the rocky canyon floor. His arm rested only a couple of feet away and he had a large dent in his head but otherwise he didn't look too beat up.

"Threepio," Leia crouched down and helped the droid sit up.

"Oh gracious me! Princess Leia! Whatever are you doing in this dreadful place?"

"It's a long story," she said. "Can you stand?"

"I… I don't know. I took a tumble when Master Luke was attacked by the sand people. Oh no! Master Luke where is he?"

"Who's Master Luke?"

"If I may say Mistress Leia it to is a very long story, but suffice it to say that Master Luke became our new owner after we left your service. We came out here looking for Artoo. Oh no! Artoo! Where's Artoo?"

The droid swiveled his head back and forth trying to find his counterpart and Leia glanced at Fett. Luke was most likely the boy they'd seen but that didn't explain the one they were really interested in.

"Artoo is safe… for now," Leia said. "Threepio I need you to tell me everything you can about this Luke and specifically the red headed companion he had with him."

"Red headed… I'm sorry Mistress but I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Master Luke and I came out here alone. We were searching for Artoo he kept going on about someone named Obi-wan Kenobi and some mission."

Leia shook her head, she knew that tasking R2 with such an important mission was the right call, she just wished things had turned out better. She looked down the canyon, the way that the assassin and this 'Luke' had gone and her stomach only sank more. They got away with R2, and by the looks of it, an innocent had been caught in the crossfire. It seemed that everything about her mission was doomed. From the Death Star plans to the missing Jedi Master.

It was then that her comlink crackled to life, drawing her from her ruminations. She glanced up to Fett then lifted the device up, letting it activate so they could get a clearer transmission.

"Mistress Leia," Winter's voice came. "Are you there?"

"I'm here Winter," Leia said. "Are you alright?"

"We escaped the Sand People… but Biggs is hurt. We're heading for a hut that we spotted before we were captured."

"I… I'll meet you there," Leia said.

"You know it?"

"I was just there," Leia said. "There's much to discuss."

Leia stood and brushed herself off. She took a deep breath as she tried to decide what course of action to take next. There was no way to catch the assassin now, not on foot anyway. Her eyes fell to the bounty hunter. He stood holding Threepio's arm, almost like a club, his face unreadable behind his new helmet. There was no hope of catching the assassin, not on foot anyway, but maybe they could track her down before she got off planet.

"Give me his arm," Leia said. "I'm going to meet them up at Kenobi's hut, you look around, see if you can't find some way to track down that assassin."

"I don't take orders from you," Fett said.

"But you do from my father's money," Leia said. "And I can promise you more of it if you do as I say."

He just stood still for a moment before finally shrugging and turning his head to survey the canyon. "If it will get you closer to actually wanting to get off this rock… fine. But don't think you can sneak away from me Princess. I've tracked a lot sneakier prey than you."

"You won't have to," Leia said. "Like it or not. I made my choice when we came after Artoo and Threepio. I fear it was the wrong one, and as part of the consequence I'm stuck with you."

"Feeling's mutual."

* * *

"I wonder if that hut has air conditioning?" Bigg's muttered as he limped along.

"I'd be more hopeful if I thought it had a med kit," Winter said, grunting just a tiny bit as he leaned on her shoulder.

"You say that now," Biggs managed a smile. "But you've only barely experienced Tatooine afternoons. Air conditioning is practically a gift from above."

"Fine, we'll hope it's both well cooled and has a medkit," Winter said, her eyes trailed to the wound in his shoulder. One of the sand people had managed to score a hit with one of their projectile weapons. At least she wouldn't have to treat him for blaster burns, but if he continued to bleed things would get very bad.

"Looks like… that crazy jedi was right about one thing," Biggs said as they neared the hut. "The sand people won't come near this place."

"We'll have to thank the Force that small blessing at least," Winter said, casting her eyes about, still not quite willing to believe that the sand people simply abandoned their chase. They no doubt were after them for vengeance for bringing the Empire down on them. Superstitions only went so far.

A desert wind kicked up as they approached the hut and Winter took a deep breath through her nose, preparing herself for whatever she might find inside. She knew that Princess Leia had been here previously, assuming they were talking about the same abandoned hut in the middle of a desert planet. Still she wasn't sure what she expected to find, but after the days events, she wasn't prepared to let her guard down for anything.

An empty, dust covered dwelling met her and Biggs. A place that showed no sign of entry save for a flurry of footprints that had been made just recently. Winter guessed by their size that they belonged to the Princess. Quickly, she spotted a nearby seat and guided Biggs over to it.

"Sorry," she said as she sat him down. "Looks like this place is air conditioned free."

"Okay," Biggs nodded. "That's the last straw, just let me die."

Winter narrowed her eyes at him and he blinked at her as if confused as to how he drew her ire.

"When you're more cognizant we're going to have a discussion on appropriate use of humor," she finally said and began tearing off a piece of her sleeve and held it against the wound. Taking Biggs' hand she pressed it against his shoulder then stood up.

"I'm going to look around and see if there aren't any supplies we might use here to help remove the slug," she said. "You sit and try not to think of cheesy one liners or inappropriate jokes."

"I'll do my best," Biggs grunted, "But no promises."

Winter shook her head then set herself onto the task at hand. She first found a large chest that looked like it had been recently opened but try as she might she couldn't get it to budge. Noticing an encryption circuit she almost started slicing it but decided that she didn't have the time nor was someone likely to hide a medkit in a locked chest.

Her continued to forage through the rooms. Quickly finding the main vaporator unit, which despite being covered in dust and deactivated for who knew how long, seemed like it was serviceable. She blew the dust off and activated it, cringing slightly as it groaned to life but then began to hum, albeit far from rhythmically. If they could actually catch some luck they could get some water to clean the wound with.

She made to look for the fresher when she heard Biggs gasp out loud. Fearing something had happened to his injury she rushed back to the main room, immediately seeing what had caused his outburst. Far from his wound, he gasped at the sight of a Jedi Knight standing in the doorway. Surely, just like she, he'd seen old holo's of them and there was no mistaking the brown cloaks and sandy robes. Was this who'd they'd been looking for? With the sunlight shining directly behind the figure, Winter couldn't make out a face.

"General Kenobi?"

"Winter it's me," Leia's familiar voice came as she entered into the room fully.

"Your Highness!" Winter launched forward and embraced her best friend in a fierce hug. Just as quickly though, she pulled away and gave her a once over. "Why in space are you dressed like that?"

"It's a long story," Leia said then looked past Winter to Biggs. "How is your partner?"

"Better now that I see you your Highness," Biggs managed but the paleness in his face and the way he winced with each word spoke otherwise.

"Hello!" a synthetic voice came from the doorway and Winter glanced over Leia's shoulder to see C3P0, carrying his own arm. "Lady Winter how very good it is to see you here!"

"You still have your droids?" Winter said.

"Artoo's been taken," Leia said in an almost defeated tone. "And with him possibly the hope of the Galaxy."

"I say, this is a dreary place," C3P0 said then his photo receptors turned on Biggs. "Oh goodness heavens, are you alright?"

"I've been looking for a medkit," Winter said. "Or something that can be used to help him. There's a locked chest that I can't get into but…"

"I don't recall seeing a medkit in it when I opened it," Leia said. "But I'll have another look."

"You can open it?" Biggs said.

"Long story."

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to be getting that answer a lot?" Winter said as Leia moved to the chest and began working with the security system. Sure as she said, the chest popped right open and the Princess proceeded to dig through it.

"I think I've got the vaporator running," Winter said as she moved over to Biggs to examine his wound again. "We should at least have water to…"

"There's no kit," Leia interrupted, "But there are some bacta patches, they look unused."

"Why would the owner of that chest have put a few spare bacta pouches in there?" Winter said.

"This chest once belonged to Obi-wan Kenobi," Leia said. "In spite of his disappearance he seemed to have remarkable foresight."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Threepio said. "Then Artoo was telling the truth? I'm so confused."

"Me too… Disappearance?" Biggs said. "This was actually Kenobi's hut? I don't care if I die while you tell this long story, I have to hear it."

"You're not going to die," Winter said. "but she can tell her tale while we work on you."

And so the Princess recounted to them the story of her escape, of smuggling herself with the stormtroopers and how she and the bounty hunter eluded capture a second time. She told of the assassin that stalked them and how they stumbled onto the hovel in the middle of the night.

Winter wasn't able to ponder too much on the evasive way Leia spoke once got to the part of the hovel. She was focusing on drawing the slug out with the knife she'd picked off the tusken raider guard back when they were prisoners. But there was definitely something she wasn't telling them.

She made a mental note to speak to the Princess about it later when it was just the two of them. In the mean time she needed to clean Biggs wound. She kept periodically glancing at him to make sure he was okay and had to admit she was impressed by his overall composure. She'd just extracted a piece of metal out of his shoulder with a sharpened piece of bone and he'd barely made a noise. Provided he lived through the experience she'd make sure to never let him know.

Leia finished by telling them about confronting Boba Fett about his identity and by then Winter had found another dilemma. The wound was clean and ready for the bacta patches, but bleeding as it was, the bacta would likely only put a stop to the bleeding and provide little healing beyond that.

"We're going to need to build a fire," Biggs said, guessing the problem. "Find some metal so we can cauterize the wound."

Winter nodded grimly but then Leia touched her shoulder to stop her from leaving Biggs side.

"I… I think I can help with that… if it is necessary," she said then pulled back her robe to reveal a lightsaber.

"Is that a…"

"You have steady hands," Leia put the laser sword in Winter's fingers. "If he's ready then get it over with."

For a moment, Winter wasn't ever sure she recognized her lifelong friend. Not only dressed as a Jedi but carrying their weapon? She glanced at the lightsaber and shook her head. Even before the fall of the Jedi they were worth a fortune in the black market, she couldn't even guess its worth now. And here she held one in her hand ready to try and cauterize a wound rather than cut the shoulder off of her friend.

Her eyes shot to Biggs. Associate. Not to cut the shoulder off an associate.

Leia washed off a broken chair leg then ordered Biggs to bite down on it and Winter forced herself to end her contemplation and focus on the task. The blue beam lit up and she took a step back so as to find the right angle. To his credit, Biggs handled it as best he could but even he couldn't stifle a cry of pain as a laser hot enough to cut through virtually anything seared his flesh back together.

The moment the deed was done, Winter deactivated the blade dabbed water on the wound then gently placed the bacta patch over it. Just one would do for now. They could save the others for later. Biggs huffed and puffed at the pain but Winter could actually sigh with some relief. He would survive.

"Do you think the water is clean enough for him to drink?" Leia said.

"It… vap…" Biggs had his eyes locked across the room where the vaporator was located. "…one of the b… best designs… it should be safe."

"Let's get him something to drink then he can rest while we plan our next move," Leia moved over the vaporator, leaving Winter alone with him. She didn't realize until after the princess had returned that Biggs had taken her hand and held it firmly. Knowing he needed support she didn't immediately let go but was relieved when he released the hand hold to grasp the small basin of water the princess gave him.

While Biggs recovered, Winter sat across the room with her friend and told her all about what had transpired with Biggs and herself. None of it seemed to phase the princess except for the part about the crazed Jedi leading the sand people but she was grateful for their escape.

Then came the part hardest to hear. Leia told her about the stolen plans hidden in R2 and how they were now in the hands of a farmhand and an Imperial assassin who had gotten away on a speeder, leaving little chance that they would catch them. After taking a breath, Leia decided to lay on another bombshell.

"We have to be prepared for the eventuality that the Death Star plans will fall back into the hands of the Empire," she said. "And because of that we need to work on finding Obi-wan Kenobi. He's alive somewhere in the galaxy… and his help might be the only thing that saves us at this point."

Winter had to shake her head. "Your highness…. Leia, how can you be sure he's alive? Have you seen this place? Yes it's remarkable that we found it and that there are enough salvageable things to serve us, but it's been abandoned about as long as we've been alive. Wouldn't it be best to try and contact the fleet and come up with a new plan to sabotage that battle station?"

"Kenobi's alive," Leia said. "I… I have it on very good authority that he's… that he's not dead at least. He's our last hope."

"I know a Jedi is a powerful warrior," Winter said. "But is he really going to make that much of a difference against the Empire."

"As much as I don't like Jedi…" a shadowy voice came from the doorway. Winter looked to see an armored helmeted man standing there. She went for her blaster but Leia stopped her and motioned for the man to enter. "… and as much as I don't like Kenobi, your Princess is right, that Jedi was one of the chief generals of the clone wars. If anyone can make your little fleet respectable it's him."

"You must be the bounty hunter Prince Organa hired," Winter said. "You were supposed to contact us when you got her Highness planetside."

"Got wrapped up in other things," he replied as he surveyed the room then looked to the princess. "Found the banthas. They're not fast but they'll get us out of the desert quicker than we will on foot. Especially if we have dead weight like him."

The bounty hunter nodded at Biggs and Winter felt her lips bend into a frown. If he had done what he was told there was a fair chance this all could have been avoided. The Princess would be safe and Biggs wouldn't have been shot. Far from the first time since she learned the news she questioned the Prince of Alderaan's judgment. But as always, duty required she put her feelings to one side.

"So we have transportation," Winter said. "What do we do about finding your missing Jedi?"

"Found this outside," Fett held up a piece of metal. "Think it might be a clue as to what happened to Kenobi."

"A piece of scrap?" Leia said.

"A piece of scrap with lightsaber cuts on it," Fett said. "Looks like it came from a droid."

"A droid?" C3P0, who had been mercifully silent, piped up. "Oh my…"

"Obi-wan was att…" Leia started but trailed off and gave a small cough. "Go on bounty hunter, what can you tell us about it?"

"This is a phrikit-tyderuim weave if my eyes don't deceive me… something like this could stop a lightsaber."

"Yet there's a piece of it lying on the ground," Leia tapped some scorching on the metal. "It's clearly been cut by a laser sword."

"Almost no metal is entirely lightsaber proof, with a strong enough cut, Kenobi could have cleaved some off."

Winter watched as Leia sighed and examined the scrap piece. "I have reason to believe Kenobi was abducted by a droid. This might actually be a vital clue."

"There's some writing on the underside," Fett flipped it over. "Never seen the like of it though."

"Writing?" C3P0 actually stood now. "Oh, might I have a look? After all I am fluent in over six million forms of communication!"

Leia handed the piece over to the droid, who held it with his one arm and examined it. For once, Leia wished she could see what was going on behind those photoreceptors but protocol droids were designed to look passive.

"Well I say, this is very interesting," Threepio said. "Very interesting indeed."

"What?" Winter said.

"Well you see... the actual message is in early basic but the characters, as you can see, are not in aurebesh. They in fact, appear to be ancient sith."

"Sith?" Fett said. "It was written in Sith?"

"It would appear to be," C3P0 said. "If you take a look at the fine curvature of the-"

"Threepio," Leia shook her head. "We'll take your word for it. Just tell us what it says."

"Oh… oh yes of course, it says: Manufactured by Systech Corporation. If found return to owner."

"Systech?" Winter said. "I've never heard of it."

"Maybe your droid's got a loose wire and it means Czerca?" Fett said.

"I beg your pardon sir but it's my arm that's damaged not my internal processor!" the droid said. "And if my databanks are correct the Systech Corporation was a droid and weapons manufacturing corporation that went out of business some four thousand years ago."

"He does have a loose wire," Fett said. "No way that metal was processed four thousand years ago. The only wear and tear it has is from the last twenty years of lying in the sun and dirt here on Tatooine."

"Threepio," Leia said. "Where was the Systech Corporation located before it closed?"

"Nar Shadda, I believe."

Leia nodded and went to the door, gazing out at the dunes and desert. "Well then we have a lead. We'll need to return that droid part. But first things first, we need to try and catch that assassin. As soon as we can load Biggs up onto a bantha we're going after them."


	6. Soft lies and Hard Truths

Somewhere in the back of his mind, an errant fantasy about bringing a girl to Beggars Canyon had always hung around. He would bring her out on a swoop or a skyhopper and then show her how he could 'thread' the Stone Needle and she would swoon at his piloting skills.

Nowhere in those fantasies did it involve her cleaning and healing a blaster wound in the shoulder. Yet here he was looking up at the beautiful Mara Jade as she put the finishing touches on his shoulder using a dermal regenerator. All the while the rocky outcroppings of Beggars Canyon provided them with shade and protection. If it wasn't for the excruciating blaster wound, this hardly would have been a terrible place to be.

"You're lucky," she said to him, keeping her eyes on the wound. "It just got flesh. If the blast had gone any deeper it might have fused your bones. Nothing in my medkit or the one in your trunk for that, we'd have to take you to a hospital. Now hold still, I have clean some of this blood away."

The thought of his bones having to be cut back into shape and grafted back together brought things even closer to home for Luke than they had been earlier. He shook his head and tried to take a breath. "Uncle Owen is going to kill me."

"I think he'll be happy to have you back alive," Mara said.

"Who were those people?" Luke said. "One of them had a laser sword like you… in fact, why do you have one?"

Mara regarded him for a moment, her emerald green eyes partially hooded by her thick eye lashes and partially shadowed eyelids, as if deep in thought; as though considering her words very carefully. Luke reminded himself that he wanted an answer not just to gaze into her eyes.

"You say you only had those droids for about a day?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "We bought them yesterday morning off some jawas,"

Mara looked away from his wound and straight at him. She took a deep breath as if steeling herself. Luke sat up a bit and she looked away, staring out into the canyons, and he looked down to see her hand quivering just a bit.

"Mara, what's wrong?"

"Luke can I trust you?"

"Of course you can trust me."

"No Luke," she turned to him. "I have to know for sure that I can trust you. Think about what you saw back there and then look me in the eyes and tell me that I can trust you."

"I… I saw some people dressed funny attacking us. I saw someone with a lightsaber attack me, and I saw you defending me with a lightsaber. You've saved my life twice today Mara, of course you can trust me!"

"That's good," Mara said. "Because I know that the reputation of my… employer is sometimes called into question and I don't want you judging me for it."

"What do you work for the Hutts or something?"

"Those droids you bought," Mara said. "They were stolen weren't they?"

"I think they might have been…" Luke frowned, trying to figure out what she meant by her employer and her follow up questions. "…There's no way of telling when you're dealing with Jawa's. Wait… you're not from the civil defense force… are you from the Empire?"

"Those droids belonged to an Imperial Senator Princess Leia," Mara said.

"Princess Leia?" Luke said felt his stomach fall. Mara and the Princess worked for the Empire. No, there had to be more to it than that. "I saw a recording of her yesterday! She looked like she was in some sort of trouble!"

"She was Luke," Mara said. "Her ship was transporting crucial information about the Rebellion, she was on her way to deliver it when Rebel terrorists attacked and destroyed her ship."

"Rebel terrorists?" Luke furrowed his brows. "That didn't sound right…"

"It's true," Mara said. "But before her capture by the Rebellion, the Princess managed to smuggle the information into one of the droids, probably your R2 unit there, then sent them to the planet in an escape pod."

"But the Rebellion wouldn't do something like that," Luke said. "Artoo is this true? Were you attacked?"

The droid warbled something quick and almost desperate but Luke couldn't understand, not for the first time he wished they had managed to get C3P0 on board. Luke sighed and looked back to Mara.

"I've always heard that the Rebellion is a group of… Freedom Fighters. Are you sure you got the story right?"

Mara reached over and took Luke's hand. "I know I have my facts right. The Rebellion attacked an Imperial escort ship, murdered everyone aboard except for the Princess. Then when they couldn't find the droids they sent a bounty hunter after them."

"The guy in the helmet?" Luke said. "What about the guy with the lightsaber?"

"Think about it Luke, you were out in the desert looking for Obi-wan Kenobi," Mara said. "A Jedi. That wasn't just someone with a laser sword. That was a Jedi, probably Kenobi himself."

"But why would a Jedi attack us?"

"Jedi were almost all traitors, he was probably trying to recover the droids just like the bounty hunter."

"But Princess Leia was looking for him in her message," Luke glanced at R2. "She said he was her only hope!"

"The Princess might have thought Kenobi remained loyal to the Empire," Mara shrugged. "But remember, he's the Jedi that killed the man that might be your father. Even if he didn't, you've got the blaster burns to prove whose side he's on."

"I don't know Mara," Luke shook his head. "Everything I've ever heard or seen about the Empire is bad. They tax us and impose such hard regulations. And I've heard they do much worse! I've heard about how they oppress whole star systems!"

"Am I oppressing you Luke?" Mara said. "You're a smart guy, so I know you've figured out that I'm with the Empire. Am I hurting you or even threatening you?"

"Mara I…" Luke searched her eyes for anything that would show him the cruelty or evil that he associated with the Empire but saw none of it there. Part of hims said to jump in the speeder and run, the other reminded him how she'd defended him from the moment they met. In the end he gave the only answer he knew for sure."…Mara I can't get involved, we had no idea that the droids were stolen. I'm grateful that you've helped me but I don't know what you expect out of me. I'm just a moisture farmer."

"A moisture farmer that might be the long lost son of one of the greatest Jedi Knights that ever lived," Mara said. "I know you don't trust the Empire and I can understand that, sometimes it can seem a bit harsh, but it's helped me my whole life. And I need your help now. I'll never be able to avoid the rebels and return this stolen property by myself."

"I can't," Luke said. "Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. From there you can get a transport back to your Imperial headquarters or wherever you're going."

"You must do what you think is right of course," Mara said.

* * *

"Okay," Biggs said, his usual smile back. "Now that my arm is starting to feel better, let's take a look at your arm my golden friend."

"Oh thank you!" C3P0 said. "You don't know how worried I was that I would have to go on for days with only one of my appendages."

Biggs nodded and examined the arm. As luck would have it, the gold plated arm didn't appear to be damaged. It likely popped out due to the impact. All he had to do was reconnect the central wires and snap it back in place. Hell, his own shoulder wound was more dramatic to fix than this would be.

"Never thought I'd be riding on the back of bantha fixing a droids arm," he said and looked out over the sand dunes then at the back of the head of the 'driver'. Winter's snow white hair was practically blinding under the suns. Still he was glad to be on the beast with her.

"We all draw strange cards in the service of the Alliance," Winter shrugged. "How's the arm?"

"Tender," Biggs said. "But I'll survive."

"Good… I have a feeling things are only going to get more complicated from here."

Biggs glanced over to the bantha alongside theirs, the one being guided by one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy. Behind him sat Princess Leia with the hood of her Jedi robes pulled up so as to protect from the sun. He had to admit he envied her just a bit, he would kill for a decent hat at the moment.

At least they had plenty of water. Using anything that would serve as a container that the they could find at Kenobi's hut, they loaded anything that could store water up and packed it on the banthas. Though he was convinced each of them might have drank their weight in water as soon as the vaporator had filled the main water storage unit.

He still had a hard time believing everything that had happened, not the least of it being that they had just been in a hut that, at least for a time, had belonged to a famous Jedi Knight. That hut had been there all these years and nobody had disturbed it. That by itself was hard to believe.

"So the Princess," Biggs said, reworking some of the wires of droid's arm. "Is she always like this?'

"I don't know what you're talking about," Winter said.

"She seems so… morose?"

"Morose? Are you sure you know what that means?"

"Of course I know what it means!"

"Just making sure," Winter said. "I have no idea what they've taught you in whatever barn they used as a school when you were growing up."

"Your jokes about my inexperience would be a lot funnier if I wasn't the first man you ever kissed."

Still looking at her back, Biggs watched as her entire frame stiffened up and her fingers tighten around the reins of the bantha. In spite of himself he grinned. He even glanced over to the droid to share his mirth, though all he got was a blank expression back. It was still funny as all hell though. At least until Winter looked back at him with fire in her eyes.

" _That_. Mr. Darklighter was a little thing we call playing a part. I can assure you that, even though it is none of your business, yours are not the first lips mine have touched and that it will never happen again."

"What if we're prisoners and we need to escape? You never try the same trick-"

"Never. Again."

"What if-"

"You two," Fett said. "Shut up. The bantha's are getting agitated with all of your bickering."

Biggs leaned over and looked at his bantha and then theirs. Either animal seemed barely aware that they were there at all. Part of him considered ignoring what was just said but he figured it wasn't best to provoke a bounty hunter unless he had a good reason. Ribbing Winter was hardly something worth going to blows over.

"The Princess is just worried for the future of the Alliance," Winter finally said. "As should we all."

"Right," Biggs nodded. "I guess more than just the morose look she has it's the… is she always so… mysterious?"

"What?"

"The cloak, the hood, the talking in cryptic language like she knows something the rest of us don't… is she normally like that?"

He watched as Winter's head looked over to the Princess then returned to stare at the desert in front of them. She didn't respond for a bit before finally glancing over her shoulder just a bit.

"That's new."

"Swell," Biggs said.

"More often than not," C3P0 said. "The Princess prefers functional clothing when not wearing royal attire that is."

"Thanks Goldie," Biggs said as he put one hand on C3P0's shoulder and lifted his arm.

"C3P0 sir."

"Nope, I'm Biggs."

"And I am C3P0, human cyborg re-"

Biggs simply snapped the droids arm back in place. While it wouldn't have hurt him, the sudden sensory input of having his arm back shut him up. The droid began working the joint around, lifting the arm up and down in a standard set of tests that were probably in his programming to run anytime he had a limb reattached.

"Oh thank you good sir! That feels so much better!" the droid cooed. "Now that I am back to my full functionality I dearly hope that the Princess will accept me back into her full service. I am afraid I am not too keen on going back to the moisture farm."

"Hey, don't knock on moisture farms," Biggs said. "I grew up on one."

"Oh I'm terribly sorry!" C3P0 said. "If it helps sir, Master Luke was a most gracious and well mannered owner I would never think that-"

"Wait shut up! Who?"

"Master Luke? My previous owner."

"Master Luke?" Biggs said. "As in Luke Skywalker?"

"Well yes sir, that was his name, did you know him?"

"Shut up," Biggs said and looked to the bantha alongside his. "Princ… your highness? Princess Leia? You said that the assassin you attacked was with a farmhand?"

"Yes…"

"Sandy blond hair, a little on the long side? Athletic frame? Maybe a white tunic?"

"Sounds like the guy," Fett said.

"Do you know him?"

"Know him!?" Biggs said. "He's my best friend! He's with the imperial assassin?"

"He defended her and he helped her escape," Leia said.

"He probably thought she was in some sort of trouble," Biggs shook his head. "Kid was always too damned nice for his own good."

"Darklighter," Leia said, pulling her hood down. "This Luke, if he's the same person, was injured. He's likely to return home-"

"Provided the assassin doesn't off him and dump him in the desert," Fett said.

Leia ignored him and continued. "Can you take us to his home?"

"Can these bantha's go any faster?" Biggs said, his heart pumping as he started to realize just how much trouble Luke was in. "I can get us there."

"These things were built for endurance," Fett said. "Not speed."

"The Lars homestead is a hell of a lot closer than Mos Eisely, if they can take a little bit of pressure… we have to try."

"Fine," Fett said. "But if they look like they're getting too hot we have to slow down. The only person I'm willing to drag across the desert is the Princess."

"Excuse me sir," C3P0 said as Biggs pushed himself closer to Winter in the saddle. "Might I inquire as to what's going on? Is Master Luke in trouble."

"More trouble than he's ever been in…" Biggs said then leaned over Winter's shoulder just enough so he could see her face, making sure to keep a proper distance. He had no desire to flirt or provoke right now. "… Please tell me you can remember how to get to the Lars."

"I can Darklighter," she said, glancing over at him. "And we'll go as fast as we can to save your friend."

* * *

The little droid didn't trust her as far as he could throw her. And considering he had no arms… she knew to keep her distance. Still, Mara Jade made sure to never let the little astromech leave her sight. Darth Vader's team had been looking for a droid that the princess may have smuggled the data on, and here it was.

The Princess herself had eluded Mara's grasp but when the Force gift wrapped what made the Princess valuable in the first place, plus a mysterious commodity such as the offspring of the Jedi 'Chosen One', well… Mara knew which way to go. She could always kill the Princess after she delivered the droid and Skywalker's spawn to the Imperial Garrison.

And he was the son of Skywalker. There was no doubt now. She had taken a sample of his blood when she cleaned his wound and had it analyzed, comparing it with the stored information on Skywalker in the Imperial Database. A perfect match. She'd been to one end of the galaxy to the next but she never expected to run into the child of a famous Jedi.

Hell, that was the only reason he was alive right now to leave her alone at a burnt out sand crawler surrounded by the corpses of the jawas that had previously occupied it. The Empire had killed them, obviously, though they'd made some effort in making it look like it was sand people. But she recognized imperial blast points when she saw them.

She'd continued the narrative she'd crafted for him, blaming it on the rebellion in their effort to steal back the R2 unit. Luke had questioned it at first, even mentioning that he had a friend in the Rebellion that he had just seen and that they would never do something like that. Mara replied that maybe he didn't know his friend as well as he thought, to which Luke had remembered that his aunt mentioned that his friend had been by that very morning without wanting to talk to Luke. Mara barely had to make further implications before Luke completely ditched her in an effort to race to his home and warn his family.

Mara could only hope he didn't run into the stormtroopers that did the sandcrawler. Him getting vaporized would put quite the kink in her plan.

A plan that only needed final approval from the one person she reported to. She'd encrypted the data and sent it straight to him. All she waited for now as confirmation. This part always had her on pins and needles. She believed her Master would be pleased with her discoveries and her plan but for all she knew he would be furious that she deviated from her task of killing Princess Leia.

She gazed off into the horizon and saw a speeder approaching. Even from here she could feel the Force potential of the boy. How had he remained hidden all these years? The larger question wasn't even that, the larger question was how a powerful and important Jedi Knight could have an heir and no one know of it. Perhaps her master knew but he had never made mention of it.

And then the Voice came just as it always did. Starting as a slight rumble in the back of her skull and growing until it filled her senses. Most the time it was but a whisper but when the Emperor wanted to he could yell with deafening results. She stiffened up just a bit as it echoed in her ears and leaving her goose bumps up her arms. The Emperor contacting his Hand.

" _You will bring Skywalker directly to me. Willing or not. Do not use Imperial Channels or transports. Nothing to tie you to him. Nothing to reveal his identity_. _Do not fail me my Hand._ "

"It will be done my Lord," Mara whispered just as Luke's speeder neared.

His vehicle hovered not too far away and Mara peered through the sand to get a look. Inside, the former farm boy just sat and stared forward as though collecting himself. Mara already knew what had happened to him. The Empire had destroyed his home, his emotions of grief, anger, and pain swirled in the Force. Slowly he got up and pulled himself out of the speeder.

As he approached, she stood, ready to tell him what he needed to hear, and what her Master would want her to do and say.

"There's nothing you could have done Luke," Mara said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Had you been there you would have been killed to, and the droid would now be in the hands of the Rebellion."

"I want to come with you," Luke said. "There's nothing for me here now. I've seen you use a lightsaber, I want to learn to use the Force just like my father."

Mara nodded and wrapped him in a hug, knowing it was what he needed right now. He held her tightly and even though he wouldn't have seen it, she made sure that she didn't give out the smile that she felt. Her Master's Will would be done.

* * *

They saw the smoke long before they arrived at their destination. Fett spotted it first, black clouds billowing off in the horizon. Biggs heart sank as soon as the bounty hunter pointed it out. But he held onto hope that they would get there and the Lars would be fine; that Luke would be there and they could sort everything out.

At this point he didn't much care if the assassin got away with the droid, just as long as Luke was safe. Biggs joined the Rebellion to fight for people like Luke and his family, now it seemed like the Empire had found a way to put even them in the crossfire.

Still he clung to hope as they neared the homestead, there were any number of reasons that there could be black smoke. He just had to hope it was something mundane like burning garbage or something. But as they drew closer, and the smoke got heavier, Biggs hope dwindled.

At one point they thought they heard a landspeeder zipping away but they weren't able to see who it was. Not for the first time, Biggs wished that he and Winter had been able to stop by their own demolished speeder so they could have recovered some supplies, including macrobinoculars. Unfortunately such wishes were in vain.

Both Leia and Winter offered their condolences once the burnt out homestead came into view. Biggs cursed being on the slow moving bantha rather than a speeder as he was forced to look and dwell on the destruction far longer than he would have otherwise. The Empire had completely destroyed the place, just because they bought a pair of droids.

A raw hole had carved itself out in his stomach by the time he leaped off the bantha and ran to the burning building. His eyes immediately set on the two charred corpses lying on the ground where Winter and he had stood just the day before. He covered his mouth as he stared at the corpses, he couldn't even tell who they were.

"H… help me search the grounds," he finally looked back at the others. "If Luke's dead then we need to look for his body."

"Darklighter," Winter put her hand on his shoulder, he hadn't even realized she'd dismounted. "You can take a break if you want, we'll look-"

"No," Biggs stepped away from her, letting her hand slip off his shoulder. "I have to know if Luke was here when it happened or not."

"For all you know, your friend Luke could be one of them," Fett said nodded toward the corpses.

"Maybe," Biggs said grimly. "But as long as there's not a third body there's hope."

With that he covered his face and entered the smoking remains of the homestead. He immediately went to Luke's room but found it empty, albeit torn apart. The rest of the house seemed to be in a similar state. What was once a fine if not humble home was now a heap. The Empire was death and with every footstep he swore he would pay it back somehow some way.

They searched for over an hour but no third body turned up. Not in any part of the estate. Leia at one point had gone about putting out the fires so at least they didn't need to worry about it burning up all around them. And while they didn't find evidence that Luke was or wasn't part of the carnage, Biggs did find at least one small thing to bring them hope, just not hope surrounding his best friend.

"You sure it will run?" Fett had said once Biggs brought them to the garage. "Looks like it needs to go to the shop… or the wrecker."

All four of them, plus C3P0 stared at the V-24 landspeeder that sat in the back of the garage. Miraculously it had somehow escaped the carnage. Based on what Leia had told him while they travelled here, Luke had the other one the Lars owned; an X-34 model. Biggs wished that the fact that they couldn't find the X-34 meant Luke was alright but the assassin could just as easily taken it.

"The Lars were the type of people that used everything until it couldn't be used anymore, then they fixed it and used it again," Biggs said as he cleared out some space for the speeder. "It might not run well, but it will run, and it will get us to Mos Eisely."

"Or would you rather continue atop a bantha?" Leia said.

"He can come with us or not," Biggs said, opening up the speeder. "I'm leaving in five minutes, the assassin will have to return the droid to the Empire, which means she'll be going to Mos Eisely. If Luke's still alive then I'll find him there."

"And we'll finally be able to get off planet," Winter said. "And get the Princess to safety."

"There's no such thing as safety as long as the Empire has Artoo," Leia said. "So it would seem that Mos Eisely is the next best thing."


	7. Shooting First

"Mos Eisely spaceport," Mara said as they overlooked the city. "You could probably find a worse collection of scum and villainy somewhere in the galaxy but you'd have to look hard to do it."

"I'm ready for anything," Luke said.

"I hope so," Mara laughed. In spite of his naiveté, she had to hand it to the guy, he had confidence. If he survived he might someday learn to back that confidence up.

"So what do we do when we get down there," Luke said as he approached the speeder. "Book passage on a transport?"

"I have a ship," Mara said.

"Oh right," Luke nodded. "Of course you do."

"There is one thing though," Mara said and glanced at R2. "Your little droid, it would be really easy for him to get lost or wander off in that city…"

"Oh don't worry about Artoo," Luke said. "He's not going to run away again. Are you Artoo?"

R2 let out a series of beeps and whistles that caused Luke to raise a brow as somehow they all sounded noncommittal. Almost like the dorid was lying about not wanting to run off. Was that even possible?

"We only met because he ran away," Mara said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I saw the restraining bolt in the glove compartment; it would be a good idea to put it back on. We need to return the stolen data he has and you need your droid."

"I guess you're right," Luke shrugged and grabbed the bolt. "Sorry about this buddy."

R2 whined and warbled the entire time Luke fitted the bolt but in the end it was fitted and Artoo let out a woeful 'dwooooo'. The little droid's feelings notwithstanding, they soon made their way into the city.

For Luke it was an eye opener. He'd never been to Mos Eisely before and he had no idea such a big city even existed on Tatooine. Everywhere he looked there was something new, a new class of droid he'd never seen, an alien race he never knew existed, and everywhere imperial stormtroopers marched and questioned people.

Luke didn't have time to wonder about it though, as a squad of stormtroopers quickly pulled them over and approached Luke, sitting in the drivers seat. His natural instincts took over and he had to fight the urge to gun the engines, stormtroopers were never good news, even if his current companion worked for the same organization.

"You two, how long have you had this droid?"

"A couple of seasons," Luke managed, unsure what Mara would do at this point.

"Is there a problem captain?" Mara said.

"Let me see your identification."

"Of course," Mara said and handed him an id card.

The stormtrooper examined it for a moment before handing it back to Mara and glancing at his men.

"This isn't the droid we're looking for, they can go about their business," he turned back to them. "Move along."

Luke managed, at least he hoped he did, to keep his face straight as he looked from the trooper to the controls then touched the accelerator and maneuvered them away from the stormtroopers. Mara busied herself with putting her id away and smiling smugly to herself.

"What's on your id? Some sort of high ranking imperial clearance?" Luke said. "Sorry, I'm still not used to stormtroopers, I thought we were dead, I guess that was kind of dumb."

"No Luke," she said. "It's never dumb to be wary of stormtroopers, they're doing their job but some in the Empire are a little heavy handed, stormtroopers included. As to what exactly happened back there… let's just say I gave him _an_ id that he could respect."

"What…" Luke glanced back at her. "What exactly do you do in the Empire?"

"I'm a patent clerk," she winked at him but then shrugged. "Internal affairs."

"That makes sense," Luke nodded. "So which way to your ship?"

Mara gave him the necessary directions, though, on their way they did manage to get a little lost. The streets of Mos Eisely weren't exactly familiar to them. But after a few missed streets they found their way to the docking bays and just as quickly to the one that housed Mara's ship.

"What about my speeder?" Luke said as they got out.

"You can sell it," Mara said. "Trust me, in the service of the Empire you'll be able to get one that's a hell of a lot better."

"Service of the Empire," Luke muttered as he eyed his speeder.

Mara latched onto his hand so he would look at her. "Luke, believe me that it will be okay. We're not all the monsters you think we are."

"I don't think you're a monster," Luke said.

"Good," she smiled. "Now lock your speeder down and come see my ship. Then I'll help you find a buyer and we can leave."

Luke nodded and followed her into the docking bay, making sure that the restraining bolt system on R2 was functional. The droid had made nothing but defeated moaning noises ever since the bolt had been reattached. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt sorry for the little droid, it wasn't his fault he carried stolen data.

Upon entering the docking bay, Luke expected to find some sort of modern imperial transport craft. Perhaps a lambda class shuttle even. Instead he was greeted with the sight of an empty hanger. He even spotted little dust cyclones in the center of it. In the end he could only scratch his head and look to his companion.

"You sure you remember where you parked?" he said.

"Very funny Skywalker," she said then frowned. "But… I don't… I did land here."

"We should talk to the docking officer," Luke said.

After nearly an hour they finally found their way to the docking offices, only to be met with a gaggle of busy administration droids, a napping secretary and finally a three-eyed gran that could barely look up from his reports to give them the time of day.

"What docking bay did you say you landed at?" he said in basic so perfect it bordered on unsettling.

"Forty one," Mara said.

"Forty one," the gran said, glancing down at his computer. "Forty one, forty one, forty… oh… oh my."

"What?" Luke said.

"It would appear that… oh well…" he glanced back up at them then down at his screen. "It would appear that I've found the problem. I'm afraid I can't help you find your ship."

"What the hell does that mean?" Mara said.

"You see, you landed in docking bay forty one two days ago then didn't respond to any of our communications. Docking bay forty one was to be cleared for use by Jabba the Hutt."

"You're kidding," Mara leaned her hands onto the table. "What did you do with my ship?"

"We tried to contact you!" the gran said. "But when we couldn't, Jabba had your ship impounded. I'm afraid he has your ship now."

"Oh that's just kriffing perfect!" Mara said. "I have to deal with a Hutt to get my ship back?"

"I'm afraid so," the gran said.

"Stop saying that," Mara hissed then made for the door.

"Come on Luke, we're going."

Slightly dumbfounded, Luke followed dutifully behindas soon as they exited the building. Luke almost thought the situation was comical, he'd known Mara for less than a day but in that time she'd always exuded confidence and competence. It was actually kind of refreshing to see that she was every bit as human as he was.

"So," Luke said, his mind slightly reeling at the thought of their next step. "Are we really going to try and set up a meeting with Jabba?"

Mara remained still, her eyes clenched shut as though fighting back a head ache. Finally she released a breath and shook her head. "No, the information contained in your R2 unit is time sensitive. We can't afford to hang around here, especially with the Rebellion on our tails. We're going to need to find a transport like you suggested."

"Okay," Luke said. "So where do we do that? A local cantina?"

"Not so much," she said. "Trust me Luke, you go looking to talk to those spacer directly and all of them are going to just want to add the use of your body to price of transport."

"I don't think that's something I need to worry about," Luke said.

"Hmmm," her eyes roamed over him. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Luke blushed and she grinned motioning him to follow her to a computer.

* * *

"Mos Eisely is dangerous, but it's no Nar Shadda," Boba Fett said. "Which is why it's a good thing we're not going there."

Leia gazed down at the spaceport, watching as various starships took off and landed. Granted, it was nothing compared to the spaceports at Aldera or Coronet, but it wasn't tiny either. And at this point she didn't feel like arguing with Fett, mostly because she hadn't made up her mind about her next move.

Her instincts, her gut, told her to get on a ship and get to Nar Shadda. In the back of her mind she could still hear the ghostly voice of Qui-gon Jinn telling her that rescuing Obi-wan was of the utmost importance. But she couldn't just abandon the Rebellion by ignoring the fact that an Imperial assassin now had the Death Star plans.

"Do you think Luke is down there?" Biggs said.

"I hope that he is," Leia said. "Because he will have Artoo with him."

"And an assassin," Winter said.

"And if we run into her," Fett said. "Let me deal with it. You kids have no idea what you're up against with the likes of her."

"I'm ready for anything," Biggs said.

"Let's go," Winter said as she rolled her eyes.

The four of them piled back into the speeder, which had proved all too cramped, especially with C3P0's unyielding metal frame occupying a seat. Yet each of them was privately thankful that the speeder had gotten them this far. They'd still be in the desert if they were on bantha.

Biggs navigated the speeder into the city, muttering a curse every time the engine stalled or sputtered, only to just as quickly talk to it in a reassuring voice like one might a frightened pet.

"It's okay girl," Biggs patted the dash. "You're doing so good. Just a little bit further."

"Will you stop that," Fett said. "You sound ridiculous."

"Hey," Biggs said. "I don't tell you how to bounty hunt, you don't tell me how to pilot."

"Can _I_ tell you how to pilot?" Winter said. "You need to slow down, you don't want to attract any patrols."

"Patrols…" Leia muttered as she looked on the cityscape around her. Deep down in her stomach, a feeling of unease rose up until she felt a chill. For half a moment she thought she imagined stormtroopers carting them off and taking C3P0 with them. Quickly she started shuffling her cloak off.

"What are you doing?" Fett said.

Leia finished doffing her robe and threw it into the back seat where Fett, Winter, and C3P0 were. "Put this on the droid and pull up the hood, make sure his photoreceptors don't show."

"I beg your pardon Mistress Leia," the droid said. "But what is the matter-"

"Listen to me Threepio, if we get stopped you're to act as though you are my uncle."

"But Mistress Leia I find this highly irregular! I'm an interpreter not a Dramabot!"

"Threepio that's a direct order," Leia said and looked to Fett and Winter who began dressing the droid.

"Better do it fast," Biggs said. "They've set up a checkpoint. We're going to have to talk to them one way or another."

The two in the back barely had time to pull the robe around the droid as Biggs began slowing the vehicle down. Leia's heart stammered in her chest as she kept looking back at the droid and then at the patrol, all the while thankful that this speeder came with a fully covered canopy and tinted windows. By the time Biggs finally stopped the speeder they'd just barely managed to get the hood over Threepio's head.

"Good afternoon captain," Biggs said after lowering his window. "Is there a problem?"

The stormtrooper lowered his head so he could peer into the speeder. Leia's stomach turned in knots but she used a practiced smile as the stormtrooper looked at her then back at the other occupants; Leia did so as well, suddenly thankful that in all of the commotion, Fett had chosen to remove his own helmet.

"Routine inspection," the stormtrooper said. "What's your business here in Mos Eisely?"

"We're looking to buy some droids to help with the upcoming harvest," Biggs said. "Heard there were some good deals here."

"Droids huh?" the stormtrooper said as he looked into the cabin again. "What kind of droids are you looking for?"

"Anything that can speak a trade language," Fett said. "Like Bocce."

"Maybe a utility droid," Leia said. "We're going to have to see what we can find."

The stormtrooper regard them for a second then told them to wait right where they were. He then went to the small group of stormtroopers that backed him up and began a conversation they couldn't hear. Leia watched as Bigg's foot hovered over the accelerator, ready to jam it down if need; all the while she fought her instincts to reach for her blaster.

Finally the stormtrooper came back, dipping his head so he could get a good look into the cabin. "When you're out droid shopping, you keep a look out for any droids that may look stolen. If you find anything, report it immediately. Understand?"

"Yes sir," They all said.

"Also this speeder you have looks pretty beat up, you may want to have it inspected," he said then nodded toward C3P0. "You got that back there?"

Leia felt her hand going for her blaster as Threepio didn't respond right away. They were so close now! She just had to pray that—

"Of course sir," C3P0 said. "It's been in the family for years, but it's up for sale if you want it."

"No," the stormtrooper said. "I don't think we need a beat up, outdated landspeeder."

"Are you sure sir?" the droid said. "We're willing to bargain, I'm positive that we can find a price that we would all find equitable. This model is a little dilapidated but with the proper maintenance it is quite serviceable and could even draw a high price by the right coll-"

"Alright shut up, go about your business and remember what I said about those droids."

"Yes sir," Biggs nodded, waiting just long enough for the stormtrooper to step back before easing them away, slowly picking up speed until they could put some proper distance between them and the checkpoint. Only when there were no imperial troops in sight did any of them breath sighs of relief.

"This is the craziest, stupidest job I ever did," Fett muttered as he put his helmet back on.

"Threepio," Biggs said. "Next time I go looking for a new starfighter I'm taking you with me. You're a natural salesman."

"That is the strangest compliment I've ever received," the droid said.

It didn't take them long to come to the docking bay where Winter had her ship stowed. Leia found herself still considering her options even as they unloaded from the speeder and entered the docking ring. Biggs was already talking about finding the dock officer and getting everything ready for them to leave like it was all decided. Meanwhile Fett mentioned something about finding them a false registry just in case they got stopped.

She just knew that she'd never forgive herself if she didn't try to find R2-D2.

Initially, she followed after everyone into docking bay 93, where Winter's sleek, J-type Nubian Star Skiff lay berthed. Biggs gawked and went on about it being a classic and practically worshiping the thing while Fett complained about it being rubbish in a fight. Slowly, they boarded with the princess taking up the rear. Leia waited until Fett decided to avail himself of the comm-unit, something about getting in touch with his contacts and getting some proper gear, before slipping out of the ship altogether.

She wasn't at all sure where she was going to go. She didn't have the smallest clue as how to find the assassin. But she needed to start somewhere. If she could just make the slightest bit of headway she might have enough momentum to make Fett fall in line.

Careful to stick to the back alleys and take as many detours as she could, Leia began working her way through the city. She needed to make it as hard as she could for Fett to follow her and she knew it wouldn't take him long to realize she was gone. She just had to hope that what Qui-gon had said was true, that the Force would guide her.

Her comm-link buzzed and she knew that it was the others looking for her. She promised herself that she would answer soon but otherwise ignored it. Something in her gut was telling her to go on, keep following the path that she was on. There was something here for her, she just had to find it.

Eventually she came out into an open street and immediately cursed her luck. So much for the Force guiding her. Off to one side, an imperial patrol marched by. To the other, Fett and her companions stood, looking around in every direction. Leia took a couple of steps back and then her eyes fell onto an open doorway. Her nose wrinkled at the idea of stepping into a trashy cantina, but she didn't have much choice at this point.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the light in the cantina but once she did, she was greeted with the sight of a veritable menagerie of assorted alien races. Off to the side, a Bith band played a peppy jatz tune. If not for the smell, this place would actually be quite refreshing.

Leia made her way to the bar, dodging several small aliens, and took a stool. Perhaps this was the way to start. She could ask around, surely these sentient beings had their ears to the ground; some of them had ears that touched the ground! Maybe one of them would be able to recognize the assassin or even Luke. It was worth a try.

An effort, that unfortunately, Leia wasn't able to make right away. She hadn't seated herself for more than a minute before a particularly inebriated aqualish latched onto her shoulder and grumbled something in his language. Leia pulled her arm away from him and turned away. Not two seconds later a finger tapped her shoulder.

"He likes you," a particularly ugly man said, breathing his foul breath all over her.

"I'm sorry," Leia said.

"I like you too," he grinned. "You should come with us, you would like it. I know your type, you like danger. I have the death sentence on twelve systems."

"I'd rather be careful," Leia said and made to get up. The man latched onto her and spun her around, digging his hands into her shoulders.

"You'll be dead!"

"This one's not worth the effort," a smooth voice suddenly came and Leia turned to see a tall, sandy haired man approaching. He wore an outfit that identified him as a spacer with a white shirt, tall boots, and black vest, all in all giving him a fairly scruffy look. Not exactly a knight in shining armor but she'd take what she could get at this point.

"What if I think she is?" the man said, still gripping her shoulders.

"She's not," the spacer said as a wookiee stood up behind him and roared something so loud that the bith musicians stopped playing.

Both the aqualish and his companion were so frightened they practically stumbled over themselves to get away, both falling over each other to exit the cantina. Leia couldn't help but grin as they ran away, even drunk ne're-do-wells knew better than to upset a wookiee.

"You said it Chewie," her rescuer said. "Some people don't know how to treat a lady."

"And I suppose you do," Leia raised a brow.

The spacer gave her a disarming lopsided grin. "Why don't you come to my booth over there and you can decide for yourself?"

"Thank you sir," Leia said, trying to decide if she found him charming or disgusting. "But I think I'm quite comfortable right here."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged but then nodded toward the door. "But it looks like someone's taking an interest in the ruckus we just caused."

Leia glanced toward the door to see a group of stormtroopers entering. Quickly she hopped out of her seat and followed the spacer to his booth. He told his wookiee companion to go and prep their ship while Leia took her seat; then, just as quickly, she leaned across the table and took his hands in hers. To anyone watching they would appear a couple of humans that just so happened to be something of an item.

"The name's Han Solo," he grinned when he realized what she was doing. "Let me guess, you're in some kind of local trouble?"

"You could say that," Leia said with the sweetest grin she could muster, her eyes occasionally darting over to the stormtroopers. "But I don't need you to come charging to my rescue."

"Of course not," Solo said. "Just like you don't need me to help you avoid this stormtrooper patrol."

"How sweet," Leia said in almost a sing-song tone. "But I'm quite capable of handling myself. Besides, I get the sense your help comes with a hefty fee."

"It's what you pay for the best sweetheart," Solo grinned leaving his hands entangled with hers, even though the stormtroopers had left.

"Best at what? Having a burly wookiee friend to intimidate drunkards? Hardly a marketable talent," Leia leaned back in her seat, taking her hands away from him.

"You'd be surprised," Solo said. "But I happen to be the best starpilot this side of the mid-rim. I'm captain of the _Millennium Falcon_."

"And?"

"You haven't heard of the _Millennium Falcon_?"

"Should I have?"

"She's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

Leia cocked a brow. Did this guy think she was stupid? She couldn't decide if he was looking at her like she was an easy mark or fresh meat. Either way she didn't see any point in engaging him in an argument about his rather lofty claims about his ship.

"I'm sure it has," she said. "But I'm not looking for a ship. I have one of those. What I really need is information."

"Information," Solo raised a brow. "Well that's what everyone wants these days. What do you need?"

"I'm looking for a woman…"

"Now you're just breaking my heart."

"… And a young man, about my age. They've stolen an astromech droid that belongs to me."

"Interesting, and what exactly are you willing to pay for this information?"

"You know who I'm talking about?" Leia leaned over the table.

Solo just fired her that damn smirk of his. "I didn't say that, but let's assume that I may know something. What's it worth to you?"

"More than a few credits," Leia said. "Especially if you can help me-"

Her voice trailed off when she realized someone was standing right in front of their table. For a moment she worried it was the stormtroopers or even Fett. Instead she looked up to see a particularly weasley looking rodian hovering about, staring at both herself and Captain Solo.

" _You should leave_ ," the rodian said in huttese. " _You should leave now little one_."

"Buzz off Greedo," Solo said. "The lady and I are talking."

" _And now you and I are talking_ ," Greedo said. " _Tell her to get lost_."

"I'm quite comfortable where I am thank you very much," Leia said. "You can speak with the good captain later."

" _I'll talk to him now_ ," the rodian drew his blaster.

For the first couple of seconds, Leia considered getting up, but this guy knew something. So instead of leaving she scooted over, finding herself sitting alongside the spacer. Even in this tense situation she noticed his grin as he draped his arm around her shoulder.

"There's no need for this Greedo," Solo said. "I was just on my way to see your boss. Tell Jabba I have the money."

" _It's too late_ ," the Rodian said. " _You should have paid him when you had the chance. Jabba put a price on your head so large, every bounty hunter in the Galaxy will be looking for you._ "

"Yeah but this time I have the money," Solo said, bringing one hand down the side of his body while the other one stroked Leia's hair.

" _If you give it to me I might forget that I saw you_ ," Greedo said.

"As if he would have it with him," Leia said.

"Exactly," Solo said. "Tell Jabba-"

" _Jabba's through with you! He has no time for smugglers that drop their shipments at the first sign of an imperial cruiser_."

"Look, even I get boarded sometimes, you think I had a choice."

" _Tell that to Jabba! He may only take your ship_."

"Over my dead body," Solo practically growled.

" _That's the idea_ ," Greedo said, his finger itching toward the trigger. " _I've been looking forward to this for a long time._ "

Leia didn't wait, she didn't hesitate. The moment she saw the rodian squeezing his trigger she went for her own. Greedo, having caught her movement out of the corner of his eye trained his pistol at her but he was too late. She pumped a bolt point blank in his chest. The entire bar went silent as the rodian fell in a smoking heap.

The first sound to interrupt the silence was a chuckle from Solo himself. She looked at him as he holstered his own blaster. "That's quite some trigger finger you have sister."

"It seems I need to go," she said, knowing imperial troops wouldn't be far off. "And it looks like we're even."

"Yeah, I'd say that we are," Solo got up with her. "You saved me the trouble of blasting him myself, nice work."

Solo tossed the barman a cred chit and followed Leia out into the sunlight. For a moment they just stood there looking at each other. Leia knew she couldn't afford to just stand there but she needed to continue negotiating with him.

"So about that information," she said.

"Sorry sweetheart," He looked down at her. "I was just wanting to know how much you were offering so I could keep my ear to the ground. I've got no idea who you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to charter and it's more important than ever that I do it. See you around sister."

Solo gave her a slight nod and started off. Leia remained where she was for a moment before running after him. She'd seen a flash of recognition in his eyes when she brought up the people she was after. He knew something!

"Wait! You can't just-"

"There you are!" a voice barked and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. Leia tried punching the man but her fist just hit his armor. Boba Fett shoved her at a wall only to have Winter and Biggs jump between him and the Princess.

"Don't ever try running away like that again Princess," Fett hissed. "You're no good to me dead."

"She's not dead, she's fine," Winter said. "So you can keep your hands off."

"Idiot!" Leia said as she got up and ran back into the street. But to her dismay, Captain Solo was nowhere to be seen. "I can't believe it! I had a lead on the assassin!"

"You did?" Biggs said. "What about Luke?"

"Him to!" Leia clenched her fists together as she glared at Fett. "Help me find him! He can lead us to the assassin."

"No," Fett said. "I'm not chasing after a karking assassin for you. We're going back to Retrac's ship and getting the hell away from here."

"Absolutely not!" Leia said. "I'm not leaving until I find Artoo! Come on! He can't have gotten far!"

"Leia wait! Wait!" Winter said but Leia was already barreling down the streets looking for Han Solo.

* * *

Luke shook his head as the bodies hit the ground. The first thing he saw when Mara had woken him up in the desert, apart from her face, was dead sand people. Now two men lay dead on the streets of Mos Eisely. An aqualish and a particularly ugly human. Both dead at her hand. He didn't like this pattern.

"I'm alright," Luke said as Mara helped him up.

"You certainly have a way with people buddy," Mara said. "I thought you were trying to sell them your speeder?"

"That's what I thought too," Luke shook his head. "Next thing I knew they were throwing me to the ground and ranting about having the death sentence on seven systems or something."

"Looks like justice had its day then," Mara shrugged. "I just got a signal from our ride. It's time to go."

"But I haven't sold my speeder yet," Luke said.

Mara's lips tightened and for a second Luke thought she was staring him down. But in the end she just sighed and took him by the hand. "Luke, I'll call the Imperial governor after we're gone and he'll put your speeder on the market, but right now we need to get Artoo to safety. Besides, once we get to Coruscant you'll forget all about that old thing."

"Alright," Luke frowned and glanced back at his speeder. It was really the last thing he had on this planet. He fully intended to never come back to this place but there was a twinge of regret just leaving it here.

"Come on," Mara smiled and squeezed his hand. "We have a ship to catch."

With each step they took, Luke found his conflicting emotions lifting just a bit. Maybe he was excited at the prospect of going to the Galactic City. Maybe he was excited at the prospect of learning how to wield a lightsaber. Or maybe it was because Mara kept a warm grip on his hand the entire time. Either way, he felt better and better about his decision to come with her the closer they got to their docking bay.

Of course he couldn't entirely forget his doubts, especially with R2 following behind them tooting in a mournful tone. He'd never seen a droid act this way before. His uncle had told him to have its memory wiped and Luke hadn't been a fan of this idea. But if the droid kept going on like this, he'd have to consider it.

Finally they came to the docking bay and Luke saw for the first time, the ship that would carry him and Mara to Coruscant where he was going to begin his new life. In his mind it had been a sleek, fine craft. The reality of it however…

"What a piece of junk!" Luke couldn't help himself.

"She'll make point five past lightspeed," the captain said. Luke hadn't met him yet. Mara had found him over the holonet and conducted the entire negotiation through a holo-unit. "She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself. But, we're a little rushed so if you'll just get on board we'll get out of here."

"Sounds good to me, Artoo get on board," Mara said as she eyed the ship then looked to the captain. "Pleasure to meet you in person."

"Han Solo," he extended his hand to her.

"Mara Jade."

"I'm Luke Skywalker," Luke said.

"That's great kid," he said as he shook Mara's hand, never breaking eye contact with her. "Your credits cleared nicely but let's be straight. No Imperial entanglements and I get the other half when we reach Coruscant?"

"That's what I sai-"

Mara halted mid-sentence as if she'd heard something. She released Solo's hand and turned to the main hanger entrance with a look of alarm and suspicion. Luke followed her gaze and seconds later a small group of men and women appeared, each of them armed to the teeth or at least they looked that way to a farmboy that had never seen anybody armed to the teeth.

He of course recognized the bounty hunter right away, as well as the cloaked Jedi that shuffled in behind the rest of them. There were two women he didn't recognize, though one, at least from a distance, looked like the princess from the recordings.

But in the end there was only one that he really paid attention to. His heart sank into his stomach the moment he saw him. Seeing him with the people that had attacked Mara and himself in the desert confirmed everything he'd feared and Mara said.

"Luke!" Biggs said. "Luke you have to listen to-"

A blaster bolt from Mara nearly hit him and sent the intruders ducking for cover, except for the Jedi who stumbled to the ground, golden limbs dangling about. Luke didn't have time to question why the Jedi looked like C3P0 under the robes, he too was ducking for cover as the ship bounty hunter and the women returned fire.

Mara and Solo each fired back, each of them missing their mark but creating enough chaos that Luke could make for the loading ramp. He grabbed Mara's hand and pulled her up with him. She resisted at first, at least until Captain Solo charged up the ramp and hit the close mechanism.

Luke and Mara tumbled on the floor together as the loading ramp shut and Solo ran to the cockpit. A few blaster shots could be heard hitting the ship's hull even as the engines began to rumble.

"Get off me!" Mara pushed Luke away and climbed to her feet, running to the cockpit. Luke quickly rolled onto his feet and raced after her, passing R2 as he went. He reached the cockpit just as the ship took off.

"I know Chewie I know!" Solo said to wookiee that sat in the co-pilot's chair. "Just get us out of here!"

"But aren't we out of danger?" Luke said. "There's no way they can hit us now."

"Don't be so sure kid," Solo nodded to the bottom right window. "Looks like their ship is adjacent to ours."

Luke looked out of the cockpit to see the docking bay alongside theirs contained a sleek spacecraft of its own. Even from this distance, he could see their attackers making their way to it. If they had things running smoothly they could airborne in time for pursuit.

"You said this thing was fast," Mara said. "I hope you weren't just selling us a bill of goods."

"We can outrun that thing honey," Solo said though as soon as he did an indicator light came on.

"What's that?" Luke said.

"They're airborne already," Han said. "Looks like they really want to catch you guys."

Moments later the ship rocked with turbo laser fire, they'd only barely cleared the atmosphere. But the rebel ship stayed right on them, blasting as it went. Luke was almost jostled out of his seat.

"I thought you said we'd lose them," Luke said.

"Watch your mouth kid or you're going to be floating home!" Solo said.

Chewie barked a few things and Solo locked onto a couple of new blips on the screen. "Looks like the Empire didn't like us blasting out of the spaceport unauthorized. Two of them coming in fast."

"This is a fine mess you've gotten us into," Mara said.

"Don't worry I'll get us right back out of it," Solo grinned the ship buckled again. "This is where the fun begins. You two go get buckled in, we're going to calculate the jump to lightspeed."

"But they're gaining on us!" Luke said.

Solo went on a tirade about how hyperspace worked all the while the deflector screens went out. The navicomputer finally beeped that the coordinates were set and Solo ordered them back. Luke and Mara ran to the passenger deck and strapped themselves in, just in time to feel the ship lurch into lightspeed.

Mara breathed a sigh of relief but Luke found he felt no such respite. Sure, they'd gotten away, but his mind kept going back to seeing Biggs standing there in that hanger. Standing with the people that had been trying to kill him. They may have escaped but Luke had lost a friend forever.

* * *

"Fett, get off the damn guns!" Biggs yelled into the comm-channel. "They're gone… and we have bigger problems to deal with!"

Ship buffeted under the turbo laser cannons of the star destroyers and Biggs swore at their bad luck. The assassin had gotten away with Luke and the droid, and top of it, they were about to get blasted into cosmic dust. Winter worked the co-pilot's position trying to boost power to the rear deflectors.

"They're going to be in tractor range any minute," Winter said.

"I know a few maneuvers, we'll lose them," Biggs said. "That is if we have a destination."

"Is there any way you can track them?" Leia said.

"If we had an hour to analyze their trajectory?" Biggs said. "Probably not, but we have to pick a destination ourselves and get the hell out of here!"

"I'll lay in the coordinates to Alderaan," Winter said.

"I hear it's wonderful on Alderaan," Biggs said. "Especially this time of year."

Leia merely stared forward at the empty space in front of them. Thousands of potential destinations to chose from and all she wanted was to figure out where that damn Captain Solo's ship had gone. Coruscant was a good bet, but it could be to any number of Imperial installations. There was simply no way of knowing.

The ship rocked again and she thought she heard an echo of a calming voice. Like a reminder from a long dead Jedi master. The ship buckled and she gripped her straps. It was too late to retrieve the droid. But she still had another mission to fulfill. One that deep down she knew she should have been concentrating on from the beginning.

"Nar Shadda," she said, drawing the attention of the others. "Set coordinates to Nar Shadda."

"Your highness," Winter said. "We need to get to a safe port. Your father will be needing word of your rescue. We need a back up plan now that the Empire has recovered Artoo."

"That doesn't matter," Leia said. "All that matters it finding General Kenobi. Set the coordinates to Nar Shadda."

Slowly Winter nodded and entered the necessary computations into the navicomputer. Fett appeared soon after, reporting that if they didn't leave the system immediately they would be captured by the star destroyers. Leia fixed her gaze on a point of light, for the first time in days, in spite of the peril and the failure, she felt right about something.

"Coordinates are set!" Biggs said. "Punching it!"

The stars streaked and the ship fired into hyperspace. Leia let out a sigh, like it or not she was committed now. She would not rest until she found Obi-wan Kenobi.

* * *


	8. Dark Spaces, Dark Places

Leia, Winter, and Biggs found themselves blasting out their first breath of air in a series of horrified coughs. Leia and Winter, who were particularly used to the fresh mountain air of Alderaan, found themselves nearly retching at the putrid scent that surrounded them on the Smuggler's Moon. Boba Fett merely strolled right past them, the filters in his helmet giving him protection against the stench.

"Welcome to Nar Shaddaa," he said. "The only place worse smelling in the galaxy would be its next door neighbor, Nal Hutta."

"You might have warned us before we took in the stench," Winter said.

"If I had my way we wouldn't be here at all," Fett said. "But if you're going to insist on stupid moves like coming to Nar Shaddaa then I'll let you reap the rewards you've earned."

Leia rolled her eyes and forced another breath through her nose. The smell became no less bearable but it was preferable to breathing through her mouth and she wasn't going to give Fett the satisfaction of seeing her gag any longer. Coming here was her call and she was going to own it.

"What a dreadful place," C3P0 muttered as he walked out onto the docking bay.

Sometimes such pronouncements from the droid came off as his foppish hyperbole, but in this particular case, Leia completely agreed with the fussy droid. Nar Shaddaa _was_ dreadful. She looked over the cityscape and almost felt like she viewed Coruscant through a warped and cracked mirror.

Tall city spires rose up to touch the sky but they did so through a layer of smog and pollution. Grand walkways stretched from building to building but cracks and crumbling coatings of ferrocrete threatening anyone that ventured on or below them. She wasn't even entirely comfortable leaving the ship on the platform they landed on, fearing it might break away while they searched the city.

"So I hate to be the one that says it," Biggs said as he joined Leia in looking over the city. "But where are we going to start?"

Leia looked around a minute, knowing all too well that now that they were on Nar Shaddaa, everyone looked to her for their next step. Had she left it up to the others, at this point they would likely almost be to Alderaan. So, as she had done her entire life, she decided to press forward and find a way to do what she needed to.

"Systech," Leia said. "That's the key to all of this. If we can find any remnant of Systech then we can find who took Kenobi."

"But Mistress Leia," C3P0 said. "Systech hasn't existed for nearly four thousand years!"

"Not to mention the other part of your Systech riddle," Biggs said. "Is the Sith. Last time I checked the number two man in the Empire was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith."

"I'm not saying that the answers will be easy to find or learn," Leia said. "But we have to start somewhere."

They all stared at her for a moment and a twinge of nervousness prickled at the back of her spine. She knew Biggs and Winter wouldn't abandon her out of duty and Fett wouldn't out of greed. But seeing them now, so unsure as to the path she had chosen, forced doubt into her mind.

This was a puzzle nearly twenty years old that had ties to dark forces that might have been around for millennia. And here she was saying that the four of them could tackle it and drive it out into the light, all just to find one man she wasn't even sure still lived.

"I know someone we can talk to," Boba Fett finally broke the silence. "Been on Nar Shaddaa for a long time and know about its lore."

Leia cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes on the bounty hunter. She'd always known that if anyone could track down Kenobi it would be him, she just never expected him to offer his services. And though she couldn't see his face behind the helmet they found in Kenobi's place, he certainly could see hers.

"Don't give me that look," he said. "Whether I like it or not, we're here. The sooner I can get you to give up this ridiculous quest of yours the sooner I get you home and get paid. Now come on. Keep close. You may be wearing tattered Jedi robes but your face will look shiny to anyone of the predators that stalk these streets."

Fett turned and lead the way out of the docking platform, leaving Leia, Biggs, and Winter to all exchange curious glances at each other.

"You want me to keep a blaster trained on him at all times?" Winter said.

"He'd know it if you were," Leia said. "Just be ready for a shoot out without any notice. We need him, that doesn't mean we have to trust him."

* * *

"Well you can forget about those slow moving slugs, I told you we'd lose them," Han said as he came into the main hold. To his great surprise he saw Jade sitting across from Chewie playing dejarick while Skywalker stood in the middle of the room swinging a lightsaber around at a remote. Not quite something he'd expect from a couple on a joyride.

Of course he knew they were anything but a couple off to vacation on Coruscant so maybe this shouldn't have surprised him.

"Don't everyone thank me at once," he muttered and sat at a nearby console.

"No," Jade looked up from the dejarick board. "You're swinging at where the remote _is_. A Force user can sense where it will be. You should feel it flowing through you."

"You mean it controls your actions?" Skywalker said.

"No, that was a Jedi belief," Jade said. "The Force is yours to use, to obey your commands. True, it can give you some foresight but you are its master."

The Force? Han shook his head. So these two weren't just trying out ancient fighting techniques, they were trying to resurrect crazy hocus pocus too. He'd consider them loons if it weren't for the fact that the redhead screamed imperial agent with her every move.

Han watched as Skywalker tried to stop the remote but got a blast to the leg for his efforts. He didn't even bother trying to restrain his laugh as the kid winced at the jolt. He'd barely seen anything of the kid, but as much as the girl screamed trouble with a capital 'T', he shouted out naiveté with his every move. Especially with the way he cast love sick eyes at her.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid," Han said, hoping to feed the boy a little sense.

Skywalker deactivated the crimson lightsaber and looked to Han. "You don't believe in the Force?"

"Look kid," Han shrugged. "I've flown from one side of the galaxy to the other, seen a lot of strange stuff but I never seen anything to make me believe there's one all powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense."

"Tricks and nonsense he says," Jade said as she got up from her game. Chewie howled but she just glanced over her shoulder at him. "Oh stop you're screaming, you'd already beaten me anyway, there was no sense in continuing the game."

"By the way," Han said as she approached Skywalker. "Been meaning to ask, you don't look so good. You don't get space sick do you?"

"There was a… disturbance a few minutes ago," Jade said. "But it doesn't matter. As for you Luke, I think that you should try it again, and that we should up the stakes."

"What do you mean?" Skywalker said.

"Well first of all," Jade said as she grabbed a helmet from off to the side and placed it on Skywalker's head. "You need to trust your instincts. Secondly…"

Jade reached over and took the remote from where it hovered. Quietly she entered in a few settings then tossed into the air. Han narrowed his eyes as he watched. What was she playing at?

"I've programmed the remote to help motivate you," she said.

"But with the blast shield down I can't even see," Skywalker said. "How am I supposed to fight?"

"Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct," Jade said matter-of-factly, as if the kid should have already figured that out.

"Alright…" Skywalker said as he ignited the lightsaber.

Han sat back and watched as the remote darted around. Skywalker, to his credit, followed the noise but he was completely blind and the when the remote swerved right in front of him and decided to shoot, the blast went right past his defenses.

For the first half second, Han was ready to laugh again and offer a well deserved 'I told you so'. But when the blast hit Skywalker, he dropped the lightsaber and pressed a hand against the blast, cringing in pain. Unconsciously, Han sat up in his seat.

"What the hell did you do to that thing?"

"Y… yeah," Skywalker said through clenched teeth.

"I turned the power up," Jade said as she handed the lightsaber back to him. "And it's set to increase every time you miss."

"How… how far is it going to go?" Skywalker said, pulling the blast shield up.

Jade responded by sliding the shield back down. "You're practicing deflecting blaster bolts Luke. Now try again."

By this point Han caught Chewie giving him that look. The one that he usually got when the Wookiee thought they should be stepping in and helping people instead of minding their own business. Still, Han remained where he was and watched.

Skywalker lit up the lightsaber again. To his credit, he followed the remote with his blade almost as well as if he was looking right at the thing. For a moment, Han actually fooled himself into thinking that the kid could actually do it. Then the blast came and knocked him off his feet.

Han frowned as the kid lay there cradling his side. The helmet sat just a couple feet away, thrown off his head, leaving a clear view of the pain written on his face. Jade stood over him looking disappointed but otherwise unfazed. Chewie grunted as Jade helped Skywalker back to his feet.

"You're still over complicating it," she said. "You have to try and _feel_ where it is, not just think about where it's going."

"Right now all I can feel is sore," Skywalker muttered. "Are you sure this is really necessary?"

"You're the one that wants to learn this stuff," Jade shrugged. "We can stop any time you like. But I can't have you fighting alongside me if you can't keep up."

He locked eyes with her for a moment and deep down, Han hoped that the kid had some sense. But in the end, Skywalker grabbed the helmet and clapped it back on. Jade held the remote in her hands, waiting for him to get ready.

"It's really important that you stop it this time Luke," She said. "This next blast is going to have the same punch as a low powered blaster."

"Now hold on," Han said. "This isn't some medical frigate, if your boyfriend gets hurt I have a bunk and a couple of bacta strips to help him, nothing else."

"I'm not so sure about this Mara," Skywalker said.

"He won't get hurt," Jade said looking to Han then she neared Skywalker. "Will you Luke?"

Chewie barked his own complaints at the situation causing Jade to slide up right alongside of Skywalker, by now his hands shook as he tried to hold the lightsaber steady to block the next shot. Her hand covered his and the shaking stopped and he took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said. "Okay, I'm ready."

Jade didn't respond, she just stepped away and tossed the remote in the air, all the while watching Skywalker with fascination but no external signs of concern. Han tightened his lips, it wasn't his place to do or say anything. He just needed to get them to Coruscant and get his money. He didn't have the luxury of worrying about how an Imperial Agent was manipulating a dumb kid.

He was just going to have to watch as the kid took the abuse.

The remote fired and Han stood up when the kid missed the blast and it sliced right through the cloth on his leg. Two more blasts shot out and Han actually went for his blaster to blow the little remote out of the air. But he didn't need to. Miraculously, the kid blocked the shots beautifully, followed by one more.

Smiling, Jade called the remote to her and pulled Skywalker's helmet off.

"You see!" she patted him on the shoulder. "You can do it, or would you like to think of it as luck Captain Solo?"

"I think it's crazy," Han said as Chewie grunted his agreement. "And if you have any bacta patches of your own I suggest you use them, you're boyfriend is staining those white pants of his."

Jade glanced down at Skywalker's leg where a red patch slowly expanded where he'd taken that final shot. Jade motioned for him to follow her and Han sighed and started going for where he knew the medkit was kept when the floor around them lurched and the ship was plunged into darkness.

* * *

With every step they took, her hand edged closer to her blaster. She even considered leaving it unclipped from her holster; but she couldn't exclude the possibility that they would turn a corner and some thug might try and swipe it. So Winter kept herself ready at all times to draw her blaster at the blink of an eye.

She had to, especially given the fact that nearly an hour earlier they left the 'respectable' part of Nar Shaddaa and descended into the lower levels. A place that made Mos Eisely look like a vacation spa and where blood was almost worth as much as Imperial credits. And that wasn't even what really had her worried.

No, what really had her worried was the fact that they were being led down there by one of the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunters. She reasoned that the Empire hadn't yet put a bounty on Leia as they either thought she was dead, or wanted to keep news of her continued existence a secret; either way, Winter couldn't dismiss the possibility that they were walking into a trap.

The other thing that bothered her, and she hated that it kept assaulting her mind like a pesky zess-fly. But every time she glanced back at Biggs she noticed how quiet he'd grown since leaving the docking platform. She found that over the last few days that she'd grown accustomed to his occasionally witty banter. Yet he hadn't said much during their trip to Nar Shaddaa.

She knew she had better things to worry about but it nagged her nonetheless.

"Explain to me again what we're doing down here?" Leia said, standing right behind Fett.

"Got a contact," Fett said. "May know how to find Systech."

"And you couldn't have him meet us topside?" Winter said.

"No."

Leia glanced back at Winter and rolled her eyes.

"Any idea on how much longer it will take?" Leia said. "I'd rather not be down here at night."

"Oh heavens!" C3P0 moaned. "I hadn't even considered that! Mistress Leia, perhaps I should return to the ship! From there I should be able to make contact with your father or sound the alarm should-"

"You stay with us," Fett said. "We might need that electronic brain of yours for more translation."

The droid muttered a few 'oh dears' but continued to shuffle dutifully behind them. But Winter's eyes quickly left him as she noticed… shadows… no, not shadows… people… creeping near every time they passed an alley way or walked by a dark alcove. Whenever she looked directly at them however, they slunk back into the actual shadows.

"Are we being followed?" She said just quiet enough that Fett could hear her but hopefully not their new tails.

"Yes," Fett said.

"Okay. By who?"

"Underdwellers," Fett said.

"Could you please give more than a one word answer?" Leia said. "What are underdwellers?"

"Beggars, thieves, vagabonds, war orphans," Fett said. "The kind of people that your kind never see in your palaces. Nar Shaddaa's lower levels are a dumping ground for the Galaxy's undesirables."

"That's horrendous," Leia said. "But of course the Empire would simply cast off those it could not exploit."

"The underdwellers gathered here long before the Empire," Fett said. "They were here when your vaunted Old Republic was still young. They'll be here long after the Empire too."

"You sound like you have personal history with them," Biggs finally broke his silence.

Fett paused and even glance back, for a moment it even looked like he would respond to Biggs, but in the end he just put his back to them and continued walking. Winter caught Biggs eyes and shrugged before slower her steps just enough to walk alongside him.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Winter said. "I know it's cold comfort, but the assassin didn't kill him which means she likely won't. Maybe someday you'll be able to find him again."

"And he'll put a blaster bolt through my head for my effort," Biggs said. "I saw the look on his face. He somehow felt betrayed, for some reason that assassin has got him all twisted up."

"You think he'll join the Empire?"

"Ordinarily I'd say no," Biggs said. "But with his aunt and uncle gone, and him tagging along with that assassin, I really don't know what he'll do."

"Well I for one hope that-"

"We're here," Fett said, stopping them in front of what looked like a burnt out hotel.

"And where's here?" Leia said.

"My contact," Fett said then looked over his shoulder. "Conceal your lightsaber, do not breathe a word about Kenobi and let me do the talking."

"Who is this contact?" Leia said.

"Someone that you don't want to get on the wrong side of," Fett said and led them into the hotel.

The inside couldn't have looked any different from the outside. Instead of a burnt out lobby, they walked into what appeared to be a very happening nightclub. Patrons of all races sat at the bar, crowded around droid cage fights, or huddled at private booths. Winter wrinkled her nose at the sight of twi'lek dancers standing above them of hover platforms. Somehow she found herself preferring the dingy cantina she met Biggs in.

Fett led them to a large circular booth. A droid waitress rolled by and asked them for drink and Fett ordered them all a shot of juma. Winter tried to protest but he insisted they have a drink for appearances. Winter could only sigh as she exchanged looks with Leia. This got worse and worse as they went. Until they could be certain of the Princess's safety they needed to avoid shady dives like this.

A figure stepped into Winter's field of vision and at first she thought it was the droid with their drinks, but then the barrel of a blaster grazed the side of her head. Leia and Biggs went for their weapons but Fett remained completely still.

"Hmmm it _is_ you," a dark, feminine voice said. "I don't recognize the outfit but you didn't flinch when I held my blaster to this girl's head… Hello Boba."

The blaster disappeared and Winter glared up at the newcomer. Her pale, almost translucent skin shimmered in the flashing lights of the nightclub. The effect showed even more as it reflected off her completely bald head save for the top knot. The woman holstered her blaster and took a seat next to Winter, cupping her chin in her long, slender fingers.

"So tell me Boba," she reached across the table and removed Fett's helmet. "What can Aurra Sing do for you today?"

* * *

For a few moments the darkness that filled the cabin was only interrupted by bickering shouts and the bellowing of a wookiee over everyone. Then, crimson light stabbed out, filling a small area with the face of Luke Skywalker; still holding Jade's lightsaber. She sighed and walked over to him.

"I'm seriously considering docking your pay Captain Solo," Jade said, staring his direction. "You said your ship did the Kessel run in record time? Did you do that in the dark too?"

"Don't get mouthy girl," Han said. "I never claimed this was a luxury liner, but I did promise I'd get you to Coruscant. And for the record, this isn't normal."

"What do you mean?" Jade grabbed the lightsaber from Luke.

"I mean the _Falcon_ has never lost power midway through hyperspace, something's wrong."

"Maybe one of the hits we took shorted something out," Skywalker said.

"Not likely," Han said.

Another light pierced the darkness, this one coming from Chewbacca, who had found his way to a storage locker and got some flashlights. The wookiee handed one to Han then tossed another to Luke.

"Do we at least have any power?" Jade said holding her hand up in refusal when the wookiee offered her a light.

"I can hear the ventilators so we still have life support," Han said. "And we dropped out of hyperspace without being thrown around, which means inertial dampeners are on. We're probably running on partial back up right now."

Chewbacca growled something and Han nodded.

"You said it Chewie, this all seems a little too clean."

"Artoo!" Jade said then looked to Luke. "Where's your droid?"

"The droid?" Han said. "You think the droid did this? That's one hell of a loose wire if it did."

"That little R2 unit has been nothing but trouble since we got it," Skywalker muttered. "I have no idea where he is."

"Use the caller," Jade said. "What's the point of using a restraining bolt if you don't use the caller?"

Again the wookiee let out a set of growls and groans, Jade narrowed her eyes when she saw him pull a small device out of his messenger bag. Even in the dark, Han noticed the deep glare she fired Chewie's way.

"What do you mean you removed the restraining bolt!? Chewie you… okay fine…" Han said and the wookiee howled in defense. Han could only shake his head deliver the news. "Chewie here says that the droid was stuck in a corridor lying face down. When he tried to move it, your little droid told him that the restraining bolt was overloading its primary motivators so he took it off."

"Why the hell would you do that!?" Jade said.

Chewie barked at her and Han held up a hand.

"We're on a space ship, where was he supposed to go?" he said. "Besides, we had no idea you had a psychotic little droid along with you, how was he supposed to know it would lose it and sabotage my ship?"

Jade rubbed her eyes. "Fine, fine, we need to find him before he does anymore damage. I'll head to the starboard side of the ship and start there."

"I'll come with you," Luke said.

"No." Jade said. "You'll just get in the way."

"Don't sweat it kid," Han said. "We'll start at port and meet up with her. Chewie will get to work on getting power restored."

"Fine," Jade said and ran off into the darkness.

Han waited a couple of moments before letting out a slow, quiet whistle and looking to Skywalker. "That's some crazy girlfriend you have there kid."

"She's not… she's not my girlfriend," Skywalker said.

"No kidding," Han said then looked to Chewie. "Get to work on the ship. We need power before she starts carving up the place that glowstick of hers."

"She wouldn't do that," Skywalker said.

Han considered just letting the comment go but in spite of himself he kind of liked the kid; even if his naivety bordered on childish and suicidal. After paying another quick glance over his shoulder he nodded for the kid to follow him portside.

"Look kid," he said. "I know she's pretty and all but you have to be blind to not see that's she's trouble. If you want my advice, I'd get away from her as soon as we land on Coruscant."

"But Mara saved my life," Skywalker said.

"Maybe she did," Han shrugged. "Doesn't mean she isn't also playing you. Trust me, you can find plenty of girls at Coruscant, you don't need one that is making you knock away blaster bolts from a remote. No girl's worth that."

"You don't even know her."

"Do you?" Han said. "All I'm saying is that no matter how she looks at you kid, she's not on your side."

"And you are?"

"No," Han shrugged. "I'm on my own side, but the difference between her and me is that I'm up front about it."

"She's… she's the only one I have now," Skywalker said as he looked at the floorplating.

Immediately Han regretted ever bringing it up. He wasn't some sort of counseling droid. Apparently this kid had been through some rough stuff, he needed someone to talk to that actually gave a damn. All Han could do at this point was get his mind off it and hope he came to his senses when they landed.

"Come on kid," he said. "Let's find your astro-droid."

….

"So," Aurra Sing said, her eyes danced over Boba and the assorted misfits with him. Two women, a man and a droid wearing a Jedi cloak. "Boba Fett and his new crew descend to the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa seeking my help. You know my help comes with a price right?"

"I don't need you to track anything for me Aurra," Boba said, knowing all too well how his dealings with the woman typically went. "Just information."

"That has a price too," Aurra leaned back in her booth. "But first you need to tell me what in space you're dressed as."

"Not important," Boba said. "Couldn't wear my armor for a job. Now I'm using what was at hand."

"What was at hand hmmm?" Aurra tapped one of her long fingers against her lips. "And where were you that Jedi armor from the Clone Wars was handy?"

"Not important."

Aurra smiled. She'd known Boba since he was just a kid thirsting after Mace Windu's blood. A kid that didn't know what it took to survive in the Galaxy, much less thrive in his father's trade. That, of course, had changed a long time ago, but she knew two things never changed about Boba Fett. He kept to his own strange moral code no matter what, and he would never trust the Jedi.

"Perhaps it isn't," Aurra said. "But you can't blame me for being curious. This… isn't your style."

"My style is whatever the job is. This is the job. I need information, will you help me or not?"

Aurra's eyes went to his companions the silver haired woman and the mustachioed man were of little consequence, but the dark haired girl… now she was interesting. Just like Boba, she wore the trappings of a Jedi, but unlike him, she wore them like she was meant to have them. The bounty hunter could see no lightsaber on the girl but that didn't mean she didn't have one. Perhaps it was a job, but the fact that it apparently involved Jedi meant it was so much more.

"Tell me what you want," Aurra said.

Boba motioned to Mustache, and the guy pulled a scrap of metal from his pack. Slowly he slipped it across the table, never taking his eyes off her. She just met his gaze and smirked at him, hoping to let the young boy know she could eat him for lunch if she so desired.

"A chunk of metal?" she looked it over. "Maybe you should find a Jawa."

"It came from a droid we're looking for," Boba said. "There's a manufacturers label from a company based here on Nar Shaddaa-"

"And you think that just because I live here I can locate it for you?"

"That is why we're here," the dark haired Jedi wannabe said, and Aurra's eyes went to Boba as he tightened his fists.

"What is this corporation?"

"Systech," Boba said. "We're looking for a company called Systech."

Aurra narrowed her eyes. That was not what she had expected. "There's no such thing."

"This droid plating was manufactured by the Systech corporation!" the girl said. "My protocol droid read it off the plating. He said it was here on Nar Shaddaa"

"Maybe get him a tune up then," Aurra said. "I've dealt with every player in this town and there's no such business as Systech. At least not anymore, I'm sure if you accessed the Imperial Database you could find a record of some company called that. The only thing that I can think of now that it might be is what's spoken in rumors."

"Rumors? What sort of rumors?" the silver haired girl said.

"Nar Shaddaa has many legends, especially in the lower levels. One, says that there is a factory whose location has long been forgotten. They say that it produces droids that come out at night and snatch people up. Some even say they work for the Collector."

"A bedtime story to frighten children?" Mustache said. "That's what you think Systech is?"

"If the Factory ever existed then perhaps this Systech is the company it belonged to," Aurra shrugged.

"And do you think there's even any truth to those rumors?" Jedi Wannabe said.

"There's a sliver of truth to virtually every rumor," Aurra said. "But in this case, I would think it is as your Mustachioed friend said. If anyone is getting snatched off the streets it's by serial killers, kidnappers, and slavers; probably not rogue droids."

"There has to be more," Jedi Wannabe said. "We've come all this way. Do you know anything about a Jedi that may have come here-"

Boba grabbed the girl's arm, his face twisted in anger. Aurra couldn't help but smile at the scene playing out before her. She'd almost never seen Boba this tightly wound up. He always played things close to the vest but rarely this tight.

"Let go of me!" the girl said as she ripped her arm away and looked to Aurra. "We're looking for a Jedi that might have been brought here by a droid nearly two decades ago."

"That's a long time for a scent to go cold," Aurra said. "And if any Jedi came here that long ago, it's doubtful anybody remembers it. Might as well be as much a rumor as the droid factory."

"This was your contact?" the Jedi Wannabe said. "A lot of help she's been!"

"Okay," Boba said through clenched teeth. "Out, all of you go outside and wait for me."

"What?" Mustache said.

"Wait. Out. Side." Boba didn't shout, he didn't draw his weapon, he didn't even look at the guy. He merely stared at Aurra. But his voice dripped with violence and murder. It was the kind of voice that anyone with brains knew to pay attention to. Aurra simply smiled and slipped out of the booth, allowing the others to leave. Once they were gone she scooted back in, this time closer to Boba.

"It's obvious who they are," she said. "The only question is why you're working for the Rebellion now?"

"I have my reasons," Boba said.

"You're trying to find that Jedi of theirs aren't you," Aurra said. "You know it's not Windu. He died."

"I know it's not Windu," Boba met her gaze. "But it might be the next best thing. So I need to know right now Aurra, is there anything you're not telling me?"

"Only that you need to be careful mentioning Jedi and Systech here on the Smuggler's Moon. People that do tend to go missing."

"From the _scary_ droids," Boba said.

"Maybe," she said and took one of the unfinished glasses of juma. "All I can say is that I only ever knew one person that went looking for Systech, they found her in the pits months later; every bone in her body broken."

Boba took the helmet he had worn and pulled it over his head. "Then I'll be on my guard."

"No Boba," Aurra reached across the table and took his hand. "You'll be dead. Think long and hard about whether getting revenge on this Jedi is really worth it."

"It's not just about the Jedi," Boba said as he walked off.

Aurra remained in her seat, sipping the juma and running over the tales of the droid factory in her head, secretly knowing she would likely never see Boba Fett again.

* * *

Mara kept her lightsaber doused as she crept through the corridors. Her senses in the Force guided her well enough that she didn't need the light. At least until she could find the blasted little droid. Nearly an hour gone and no sign of it. Unless of course Solo and Luke had stumbled onto it and hadn't told her.

No, Luke would tell her. She knew that much. He had allowed her to practically shoot him just a couple hours earlier. She needn't worry about him suddenly becoming disloyal, and if she did she knew exactly how to encourage him.

In the end all men were the same after all. Even bright eyed innocents from backwater worlds.

Still, Mara knew to be careful about how much she pushed him with her charms. If he got too attached to her, that would make training him difficult for whatever handler's the Emperor assigned to him. She needed to keep him at arm's length, but only just.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered at Luke's ability. Her trainer's methods were every bit as harsh as hers, she had the marks to prove it, but Luke latched onto it like he was born with a lightsaber in his hand. It was impressive and even a little unsettling.

But she couldn't afford to ponder on Luke's ability at the moment. Right now she needed to focus on finding that little droid. A couple of times she thought she had heard the rolling of wheels or even an occasional 'beep' but in both cases it was Solo's pet wookiee trying to get the power restored.

Mara rounded a corner and the Force twitched in the back of her mind. Droids were trickier to sense than organics, not really having a Force signature, but they were detectable. And suddenly she knew she was coming up on the little astro-droid.

Crimson light stabbed out into the darkness and Mara realized just exactly where the droid was and raced to the end of the hallway, stopping just inside the main cargo hold. The little R2 sat there, his main scomp link 'arm' slotted into a computer terminal. Mara narrowed her eyes at the droid. With the power out there was no computer to interface with. So what in blazes what it doing?

"You there," she said. "That's quite the chase you've led me on. But there's nowhere else for you to go now."

The R2 whistled something almost as though mocking her, then Solo's voice fired out from her comlink.

" _Chewie's found the problem_ ," Solo said. " _Looks like that droid put the main computer into sleep mode._ "

"You mean he didn't break anything?" Mara said.

" _Still not sure about that_ ," Solo said. " _I think he may have damaged the hyperdrive, but Chewie says that the computer is programmed to turn back on any second now. Solo out._ "

"The power will be coming back on…" Mara narrowed her eyes and clipped the comlink back on her belt. The lights above flickered and she took a step toward the droid. Then it hit her, in the same instant it took for the lights to come back on she suddenly realized why the droid just sat in there.

The lights blinked on and the droid hooted and rotated the scomplink. Mara ran for the door she came from but it was too late. The main cargo doors burst open, exposing the pair of them to the vacuum of space.

Air whipped around Mara and threw her off her feet. All the while the droid remained put; magnetically fastened to the floor. Mara flailed her arms about, trying to grasp at anything she might get her hands on. But the droid had planned her murder perfectly. The only thing close to her at the point of depressurization, were cargo cylinders already flying out into space.

Mara clawed at the floor but she tumbled and spun around, seeing the empty blackness of space opening wide to take her. Then, she just stopped. She stopped dead in the middle of the air, just barely still inside the ship. Her hair whipped around her as she turned to see Luke.

The farmboy stood just outside the cargo hold, half his body secure against the threshold, the other dangled in the air. He held his arm out straight and he gritted his teeth, straining to maintain his hold on her with the Force.

Given the couple of seconds she needed to focus, Mara summoned her own power and 'pushed' the Force in front of her, sending her backward, almost reaching Luke's outstretched hand before the vacuum took her again. But then the doors swung back and clamped shut, allowing Mara to drop on her back, panting and wheezing for air.

Luke ran to her, pulling her away from the doors while she heard the R2 unit beeping and whistling frantically. Luke held her tight and Solo's voice came through the comlink again.

" _What the hell happened down there?! Chewie just had to do an override on the cargo doors_!"

"Artoo…" Luke said. "Artoo just tried to space Mara."

"… _is she… did he do it_?"

"I got her," Luke said. "I got her."

Mara just glared at the little droid as its scomp arm spun around, no doubt trying to do more damage. She flattened a hand out and the droid flew backwards with a scream, smacking against the doors. It would survive, but Mara vowed to have the thing torn apart the moment the Empire recovered the information it carried inside.

" _I got bad news_ ," Solo said. " _Hyperdrive is shot, no way to repair it here. We're going to have to get to the nearest system on sublight power_."

"Is it far?"

" _Not too far_ ," Solo said. " _Alderaan is only a few hours away_."


	9. A Jedi Found

"I'm just saying we should consider it," Biggs said.

"Darklighter your suggestion is not without merit," Leia said. "But I don't think now is the time to confront Fett."

We can't trust him," Winter said. "He took us into that viper's den, who knows what might have recognized you."

"And no one says we should confront him," Biggs said. "Just give him the slip and get off this pit of a planet."

"We're not leaving here until we learn of Obi-wan's fate," Leia said.

Biggs and Winter exchanged looks, neither of them needed to say anything to each other. Both of them had come to the same conclusion quite separately. Now it was only a matter of who would break first and confront the Princess.

"My lady," Winter said. Perhaps we need to face the truth that Kenobi is dead."

"He's not," Leia said

"You can't know that," Winter said. "You heard Sing, no Jedi has been heard of here since the Purge."

"But we know that Kenobi was taken by a droid-"

"Do we?" Biggs said. "All we saw was a worn out shanty in the desert that had a Jedi robe and a lightsaber in it. You just seem to have assumed he was taken by a droid and thought that the scrap metal was proof. What's more likely is that the Empire found him and killed him."

"They didn't," Leia said. "What I'm telling you is true, Kenobi was taken by a droid. That Systech scrap surely belonged to it."

"But Mistress Leia," Threepio said. "There is no Systech, it went out of business millennia ago! I only knew of it because its name is included in my databanks as an early pioneer in droid manufacturing!"

"This discussion is over," Leia said. "We're staying on the smuggler's moon until I'm satisfied our lost knight is not here."

Winter sighed and put a hand on Leia's shoulder, "Just... Just please tell me what it is that makes you so certain of the droid and of Kenobi"

Leia stared into her dear friend's eyes, her mouth opened as though she might answer but in the end she blinked and looked away.

"I can't tell you," She said. "I just need you to trust me."

"They may trust you," Fett's voice came and the saw him leaning against the hotel, just by the entrance. "But I don't. You know something, something more than you're letting on. You started acting this way right after you went into Kenobi's hut."

"That's none of your business Fett," Leia said.

"Actually it is," Fett said. "Sing just let me know that people that do what we're doing on Nar Shaddaa, tend to wind up dead. So if I'm going to be risking my life for some mission of yours, there better be one hell of a good explanation. What did you find in that hut?"

"These clothes and my lightsaber," Leia said quickly, somewhat evasively.

"There has to be more than that," Biggs said.

"That's what I found I-"

"Your highness, what was in that hut?"

"I-"

"Tell us."

"You wouldn't-"

"Tell us."

"It's compli-"

"Tell us!"

"A Jedi!" Leia snapped, silencing all three of them. "A Jedi Master appeared to me and he told me Obi-wan had been kidnapped by a droid."

"A Jedi," Fett lowered his head as if peering at her. "You met a Jedi out in the karking desert and we're slogging through the streets of Nar Shaddaa looking for Kenobi?"

"If you remember…" Biggs said. "… we met one too. Which means it was probably the same guy."

"They weren't the same," Leia said.

"How can you know?" Winter said. "We were his captives all night and only saw him once. He could easily have travelled to that hut and met you."

"No, you don't understand," Leia said then rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't even believe me. You met a Jedi named A'Sharad Hett, I met a Jedi named Qui-gon Jinn."

"Qui-gon Jinn?" Fett said. "Jinn died before any of you were born."

"I know," Leia said. "But you asked, I told. Now can we get a move on and get back to our mission?"

"… Your Highness we can't just…" Winter said, glancing to Biggs and even to Fett. "… What mission? To find a man that a dead Jedi told you to find? You have to understand that you're making no sense at all."

"I agree with her," Fett said. "Not that you ever did, but if I'm understanding you correctly you're chasing Kenobi because a ghost told you to."

"Call it whatever you want," Leia said. "I know what I saw and I'm not abandoning my mission."

"Your Highness," Winter said. "Forgive me but you've been under a lot of stress. You'd been hiking through the desert with no water for the better part of a day. Don't you think it's possible that you imagined seeing this Jedi Master?"

"Even I passed out from exhaustion," Fett said. "I can't believe I let you bring me out here. If this is really all you have to go on then I'm ready to drag you back to the ship and haul you to Alderaan whether you like it or not."

"You're not taking her anywhere," Biggs said. "So I say we get back to trying to figure out this riddle about Systech."

"You believe her?" Winter said.

"I don't know," Biggs shrugged. "But I've seen dead Jedi in the desert too if you remember. She has no reason to make that kind of a story up, so why not assume that she saw what she says she saw?"

Leia looked to Biggs and gave him a polite nod, "Thank you Darklighter. At least someone here believes me."

"Maybe someone else believes you too," Fett said then whirled about and fired a shot into the alley way behind them. The others snatched their weapons out too but Fett ignored them altogether and kept his blaster rifle aimed into the alley.

"Come out now or the next shot will kill you," he said, his finger pushing on the trigger ever so slightly.

Leia peered into the alleyway but saw no one, just darkness. Fett stood like some menacing statue, ready to kill blast the shadows into oblivion. And for a moment it looked like he would have to do it. But finally a flicker of movement came from the shadows and a scrawny Rodian skulked out with his hands over his head.

"No shoot Gluupor!" he said.

"Yes shoot Gluupor," Fett seized the Rodian by his tattered collar. "Unless Gluupor tells Fett what he heard."

"Nothing! Gluupor hear nothing! Please! Gluupor hungry! Gluupor hear nothing!"

"Leave him alone," Leia said but Fett ignored her and began searching the poor Rodian's pockets. Finally he retrieved a small device.

"Gluupor hear nothing eh?" he shoved the blaster under the Rodian's neck. "What's this then? A com-device of some kind."

"No! No! Gluupor find it! Belong to Gluupor!"

"What did you hear!? And who were you transmitting it to?"

"Fett," Biggs grabbed the bounty hunter's shoulder. "Open your eyes, that's just a piece of junk. It's older than the one that the Princess found in the hut. I can tell from here that there's no way it's functional."

"He heard us!" Fett said. "He knows everything about Systech, about the Princess's crazy vision, about the Jedi."

"Jedi yes," Gluupor said, his antennae perking up a bit.

"You know of Jedi?" Leia stepped forward.

"Don't encourage him," Fett growled.

"Jedi yes, Gluupor know Jedi. Jedi on Nar Shaddaa, Jedi help Underdwellers."

At this, Leia exchanged glances with Winter and Biggs, even Fett seemed to pause at the Rodian's statement. Of course they'd already gathered he was an Underdweller. But that he would be able to say anything about actual Jedi…

"Are you saying you've seen a Jedi here on Nar Shaddaa?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes!" Gluupor said.

"Can you take us to him?" Leia said.

"… Gluupor hungry."

"Oh I've had enough of this," Fett shoved the Rodian at the wall. The poor alien shrieked and stumbled to the ground, curling up in a little ball as he looked up at the bounty hunter. "Tell us where the Jedi is and Gluupor can go on being hungry!"

"That's enough!" Leia said as she stepped up behind Fett and jammed the hilt of her lightsaber up against his back. He immediately stiffened but kept his head staring straight ahead.

"Princess Leia!" C3P0 cried out. "Do be-"

"Quiet," Leia said then looked back up at Fett. "I'm not going to stand by while you threaten and abuse this poor creature. Darklighter has protein wafers and rations he brought from the ship, any of us have more credits in our pockets than this sentient will see in a year. We can afford to give him something in exchange for his information."

"Gluupoor," the Rodian cried. "Gluuuporrr"

"Get that lightsaber away from my back," Fett said.

"You'll behave yourself?"

For a heavy second, Fett turned his head, just enough that he could likely see the Princess out of the corner of his eye. Both Winter and Biggs had already drawn their blasters but they steadied their aim at the bounty hunter. Finally, Fett seemed to almost shrug as he removed his finger from the trigger of his blaster and held it up.

"Good," Leia said and took a step back, stowing her lightsaber but keeping her other hand next to her blaster. "Now we can get along. Gluupor? Would you like something to eat?"

"Gluupor hungry!"

"Darklighter," Leia said.

Biggs rummaged in his pack then tossed a ration bar to the Rodian. Gluupor seized it in mid-air and barely had the wrapper off before he shoved it up his snout. Fett just shook his head and turned around, pausing to lean in closer to Leia.

"He's going to lead us into a trap, mark my words."

"We'll see," Leia said then looked to the Rodian. "Gluupor, would you like more food?"

The Rodian didn't speak, but instead reached out and took Leia's hand. Before she could react he placed his snout over her knuckles in something of a 'kiss' then knelt in front of her with his head bowed.

"You have lightstick! You Jedi like Jedi Gluupor know! Gluupor take you there!"

Leia merely glanced over to Fett and fired him a triumphant smile. The bounty hunter shook his head and reluctantly followed as Gluupor led them down the streets, further into the depths of Nar Shaddaa's lower levels.

* * *

"…our positions correct except… no Alderaan," Solo muttered, his eyes locked on the navicomputer. Astroids continued to pelt the Falcon as Luke and Mara gazed into empty space where a blue white marble of a planet should have been.

"What do you mean?" Luke said. "Where is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you kid," Solo said. "It ain't there. It's totally blown away."

"How is that even possible?" Luke said. "Could it have been… could the Empire have done it?"

"Not likely," Mara said before Solo could speak up. "The entire fleet couldn't destroy an entire planet. It would take far too much firepower and-"

The sensors began beeping rapidly, signaling an incoming ship. Mara frowned as the TIE fighter passed over them, letting loose a quick volley of turbo-laser fire as it went. Solo and Luke postulated over how it could have gotten out there but Mara kept her eyes on a nearby dot in space getting bigger.

Sure, she'd denied that the Empire had the power to destroy an entire planet. And as far as she knew, it didn't. But she'd heard rumors and inklings of a new weapon being built, in fact, she suspected that the information Luke's psychotic little droid carried was about just that. Could this have been the result?

"You shouldn't be jamming his transmissions!" Luke said to Solo, pulling Mara from her musings. "We should just let him know who we are."

"I'm not taking any chances," Solo said.

In the seat behind him, Mara couldn't help but smile. Were she not there, she carried no doubt that Captain Solo would have blasted that fighter into space dust. In fact, she could see him itching to do it. But Solo, in spite of how he came off, was smart and knew he'd never get away with it with her sitting there.

"I think he's heading for that small moon," Luke said, finally picking up on the point of light Mara noticed earlier.

Her eyes fixed on it again and an empty feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She usually kept her mind on the job but she called back all the rumors of the weapon and now seeing it, she couldn't deny what it was straight ahead of them. The Emperor's command to avoid Imperial command centers replayed in her head.

"That's no moon," she uttered. "That's a space station."

"It's too big to be a space station," Solo said.

The 'moon' loomed closer and quickly began taking form, Mara's instincts cried out for her to complete her mission and not endanger her prize. Luke muttered something about a bad feeling about this and Mara leaned over so Solo could hear her.

"Turn the ship around," Mara said.

"Yeah…" Solo said. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Solo flicked some switches but the ship kept chugging along toward the space station. Solo tried throwing in the auxiliary power but the ship just began rocking a bit, still heading to its destination.

"Why are we still moving toward it!?" Luke said.

"It's a tractor beam," Mara said. "It's pulling us in."

"There has to be something we can do."

Mara sighed, she had just one gamble left at this point, at least without coming up with a completely new strategy. A project like this super weapon would be absolutely top secret which meant the usual authorization codes wouldn't work. She was going to have to use her trump card.

"I'm going to hail them," she turned to the communication's console. "Perhaps I have high enough clearance that they'll let us go."

"Well why didn't you do that from the start?" Solo said.

Mara entered in her authorization code, the one that she used as the Emperor's Hand that overrode nearly all other Imperial orders. This one opened doors for her and kept people from asking questions they shouldn't. Along with the code she sent a short message ordering them to release their ship. After sending the transmission she could only sit back and wait for the no doubt surprised communications officer to relay her message.

Meanwhile the space station had nearly overtaken the entire viewport. Solo fiddled with the controls for all the good it would do him. The tractor beams on this sort of space station were powerful enough to pull in a capital ship if it needed to. The tiny freighter was nothing more than a gnat to it.

The creeping dread in Mara's gut had somehow traveled to her hand and caused it to grip onto Luke's tightly. She had to deliver her prize to the Emperor, the controllers on the space station were obligated to acknowledge her authorization code. Virtually no one had higher clearance in the entire galaxy.

" _Unidentified freighter_ ," the comsystem suddenly blared, causing Mara to release Luke's hand and move over to it, unfortunately Solo answered first.

"Yes, we sent you an authorization code," he said. "We'd appreciate if you disengaged your tractor beam and allowed us to go on our merry way."

" _Negative Unidentified freighter_ ," the voice said. " _Your code has been overridden._ "

"Overridden!" Mara pushed Solo out of the way. "Overridden by whom?"

" _Lord Vader has ordered or ship towed in to hanger bay 34, please shut down engine power and prepare for escort upon landing_."

"Shavit," Mara muttered under her breath. Of course Vader would be on that space station. Her eyes turned to Luke. Plan A had been jettisoned out the airlock, Plan B too, which meant that Plan C would have to do. She just needed to figure out what the hell that was.

"What do we do now?" Luke said.

"You," Mara took his hand. "Are coming with me, I need to talk to you privately. Captain Solo, we'll meet you at the loading ramp as soon as we land. I promise you'll be treated well and fairly, just cooperate with the commander, understand?"

"This wasn't what I signed up for," Solo growled.

"But it's the hand you've been dealt," Mara said. "Come on Luke."

* * *

Leia absolutely hated to admit it. She couldn't stand it. But deep down, with every level they descended, she found herself wondering if she should have agreed with Boba Fett. With each back alley they took and each wrong turn they made, it seemed more and more that Gluupor either didn't know where they were going, or he was leading them to a place they wouldn't be able to leave easily.

"How much further Gluupor?" Biggs said.

"Not far!" Gluupor said. "Jedi yes!"

Leia frowned, that had been his standard answer for the last hour. "Gluupor, how long have you known this Jedi?"

"Jedi on Nar Shaddaa as much as Gluupor."

"How about before Gluupor?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes!"

"What about after Gluupor?" Fett hissed.

"Gluupor…"

"Gluupor," Leia said. "Tell us of the Jedi."

"Jedi yes," Gluupor said, and Leia readied an exasperated sigh, but to her surprise the Rodian actually continued talking. "Jedi come to Underdwellers long time. Jedi save Underdwellers. Give them food, fight bad men, save children, protect from the Collector. Underdwellers not forget Jedi. Now Jedi safe. Underdwellers protect Jedi."

"But I thought the Jedi saved the Underdwellers," Biggs said.

"Jedi yes!"

"Did the Jedi give you that trinket?" Fett said.

"Gluupor…"

"The device, did the Jedi give it to you?"

"Jedi…"

Fett shook his head and turned back to Leia. "I think I know what it is that he has."

"Darklighter said it was a comdevice."

"No," Fett said. "If I'm right-"

"Jedi here!" Gluupor said, having stopped in front of a collapsed structure that may have been a warehouse once. Or even a factory.

"The Jedi is in there?" Leia said.

"Jedi yes."

The four companions and C3P0 stared at the building for a moment, all of them wondering if it would even remain standing long enough for them to walk in and look around, let alone search for a missing Jedi. Leia's eyes scanned the building for any markers, hoping to perhaps see something that mentioned Systech.

"I think this was a meat processing plant," Winter said.

"Why would a Jedi hide out here?" Biggs said.

"Jedi here!" Gluupor said. "Gluupor hungry!"

Leia sighed and watched as Biggs handed the Rodian more rations. She certainly hoped that this lost Jedi wasn't hungry because their little guide had practically devoured their entire stock.

"What are we waiting for then?" Winter stepped toward the building.

"No!" Gluupor stepped in front of her. "Weapons no! Weapons bad!"

"Wrong," Fett shook his head. "Weapons stay with us."

As much as Leia had been trying to reign in Fett's boorish threats, this one, she felt entirely inclined to agree with. Down in the lower depths of Nar Shaddaa, surrounded by sentients that might as well have been shadows any one of them possibly intending her harm, hardly made her feel comfortable giving up her weapons.

"Sorry Gluupor," Leia said. "We're not leaving our weapons outside."

"Jedi not happy."

"He'll just have to live with it," Fett said.

"Gluupor…"

"We promise to be good," Biggs said.

"Alright Gluupor," Leia said. "We're heading in."

Slowly, Gluupor nodded and his eyes didn't even stray to Leia's lightsaber. She couldn't help but wonder what he made of it. He seemed so keen on Jedi yet didn't respond at all to the fact that she dressed as one and carried their weapon. Still, the Rodian stood out of the way and Leia took her first step into the darkness.

* * *

"I'm not sure about this Mara," Luke said as they neared the loading ramp. "You've been trying to get me to trust the Empire this entire time. Now you want me to lie?"

"Listen," Mara said. "From the beginning I've acknowledged that some in the Empire are a little heavy handed. Well none have a heavier hand than Darth Vader. He made his career by hunting down and killing traitorous Jedi. How do you think he's going to react to the son of one of the most famous?"

"Are you sure there isn't any other way?"

"Believe me," she said. "If there were, I would have taken it. Just let me do the talking and only speak when spoken to. Vader will be far more interested in me than he will anybody else."

"Alright," Luke sighed. "Han's probably waiting, we should get going."

"We will," Mara said. "There's just one more thing…"

"What that-"

Before Luke could finish his sentence Mara took either side of his head and pressed her lips against his in a fierce kiss. He barely had time to close his own eyes and kiss back before she pulled away and then glanced at a nearby bulkhead; almost as though she was embarrassed.

"What… what was that for?"

"For saving my life earlier," she smiled at him. "Now we can get going."

Luke nearly tripped over his own feet when he followed her but somehow he managed. His doubts about this ruse of hers, this space station, even the Empire, momentarily faded away as he attempted to process the kiss. He barely even noticed when she pulled the caller from her pocket and summoned R2 to follow them.

It was only when they met Han, looking as dour as possible, at the loading ramp, that he cobwebs began to clear. Mara nodded to Han then proceeded down, R2 followed behind then Luke. After a few steps Luke took note of the white boots of the stormtroopers as well as the smart leather of their commanding officer. Then his eyes fell on a different set of boots altogether. Black and hard, they were connected to a giant figure, clad in the exact same color. A chill ran up his spine as he heard the steady mechanical breathing.

This was Darth Vader.

For an instant, Luke froze, wanting to flee back up the ramp, but Han smacked into him and the former farmboy bumbled down the ramp, nearly stepping on R2. He looked up, certain that he'd have dozens of blasters trained on him but all eyes seemed to be on Mara and Vader.

"Mara Jade," a deep booming voice that seemed ripped from a nightmare said. "I was not expecting to find you here of all places. How did you know of our location?"

"Lord Vader," Mara gave a courteous bow. "With all due respect, you can't destroy an entire planet and expect no one to notice. When I heard the news I put two and two together and came here."

"Did you?" Vader said incredulously. "And for what purpose would you come to the Death Star? Did the Emperor authorize you to come?"

"Not in so many words," Mara said. "I was on my way to Coruscant to deliver-"

"Then you came here without authorization!" Vader said. "Were you not the Emperor's pet I would kill you right now."

"As I said," Mara shrugged, but Luke noticed her hands shaking just a bit. "I was on my way to Coruscant. I was returning from Tatooine."

"Tatooine?" Vader said as sudden interest sparked in his voice. "What were you doing there?"

"Recovering this," Mara hit a button on the caller and R2 rolled forward. "This little droid it seems has a recording of Princess Leia of Alderaan, I suspect it has stolen imperial data on this space station. Naturally you understand why I came here."

Vader seemed transfixed on the little droid for a moment before finally turning to Mara. Luke fought back the desire to pull her away from him. The way he loomed over her like a drexl ready to strike made him uneasy. But when the dark lord finally spoke the constant menace had eased somewhat.

"So the princess did put the plans in the droid," Vader said.

"I take it then that this is my ticket to continue with my mission? Now that I've delivered your droid, the Emperor will want me on Coruscant as soon as possible."

Vader's head slowly moved from Mara to the droid then back again. Finally he stood up straight. "I will speak with the Emperor myself, in the meantime you can leave the droid with us, we have better use for it than you do."

"Wait," Luke blurted out. "I thought you were just going to retrieve the data from his memory core…"

He felt Vader's gaze turn on him instantly, he didn't even have to see the man's eyes to feel them boring down on them. Instantly a shiver ran down Luke's spine and he had to fight his urge to look away. R2 may have had some issues but he still belonged to Luke.

"Lord Vader," Mara jumped in. "I apologize, for my associate speaking out of turn. The droid technically belongs to him, but he'll gladly give him up to the Empire."

"Associate," Vader said. "And who is your associate here?"

"His name is-"

"No, I wish to hear him account for himself. What's your name boy?"

"Luke sir, Luke Sunrider."

"Sunrider?" Vader's head cocked to the side slightly. "Famous last name. It carries a legacy that one such as yourself scarcely understands."

"Yes sir," Luke nodded, hoping to get it as over with as soon as possible.

"And what exactly, do you do for Jade?"

"She… she recruited me on Tatooine. She thought I had potential as a servant of the Empire."

"He's one of the finest pilot's I've seen," Mara added. "Even if he's from a backwater world I thought it a shame for his talent's to go to waste. After Jabba the Hutt impounded my ship and likely killed my last pilot, I figured I'd go about training a new one."

"Very well," Vader said. "You will report to Governor Tarkin and myself in two hours time and be fully debriefed on the droid. And as for young Sunrider, he will report to Captain for a piloting aptitude exam."

"Lord Vader I assure you that is not necessary," Mara said.

"Necessary? It does not matter, I wish to see the boy's skills myself."

With that the dark lord about faced and headed off into the depths of the space station, leaving Luke, Han, and Mara standing in the hanger, surrounded by stormtroopers and commanders. Once he was out of sight Mara released a tight breath and looked at the others.

"That could have gone better," she said then nodded to a pair of imperial technicians. "Take the droid and remove the stolen data from his memory core. If at all possible leave everything else in tact."

"So what now?" Luke said.

"You have to report for your tests," Mara said. "I'll have someone guide you there."

"And me?" Han said. "There's still the fact that my ship is sitting here on an Imperial battle station."

"You'll be free to go," Mara said. "I'll clear it with the deck officer."

"Now hang on a minute," Han said. "What about my money? What about what your droid did to my ship?"

"Upon arrival on Courscant you were to be given the other half of your fee, as we are not and will not be using your services to travel there, you will have to be content with what you've already earned. As for your ship, you have a valid point. I'll get technicians on it as soon as possible."

"Great, in the mean time I'm stuck here," Han said.

"We're all stuck here," Mara shrugged. "Be grateful that you're being let go so easily. We both know I could find violations and excuses to detain you if I wished. Now if you'll excuse me I have to make all of these arrangements."

With that, Mara left them standing together and approached a nearby commander. Han stepped up behind Luke and slipped him a comlink, but kept his eyes staring forward and posture relaxed so no one would see it.

"I know you can see this is all bad news kid," Han whispered. "When the Falcon's repairs are done I'm going to send you a signal. If you want a way off this station I suggest you find an excuse to leave and meet me here. I won't wait long."

Luke nodded, though he kept his eyes on Mara. A war raged between his head and his heart, but he gripped the comlink as tightly as possible.

* * *

After meeting Fett's contact in what looked like a burnt out hotel but was actually an exclusive club, Leia half expected to find some Jedi Shrine on the inside of the condemned building Gluupor lead them into. Instead she found that was exactly what it looked to be. A condemned building.

Ill lit, strewn with trash, smelling foul, it practically encapsulated everything wrong with Nar Shaddaa in the first place. Leia eyed Gluupor with each step, questioning the wisdom of following him in the first place. This little Rodian was completely mad.

"Where's the Jedi, Gluupor?" Winter said.

"Jedi yes, Jedi ahead."

"Looks like Retrac was right," Fett said. "This was a meat processing plant… at some point. Could be centuries since it was operational. Amazing it's still standing."

"I wonder if our definitions of still standing are the same," Winter muttered. "I worry that this place will come down around us if we so much as sneeze."

"Quiet," Leia said. "I see something up ahead."

The four of them hushed up as they approached a… figure in the darkness. It stood tall, seeming to grow with each advancing step. Leia peered into the darkness and clearly saw the outline of a human being. She squinted and thought she saw the glint of a lightsaber hilt in the hand. Her heart thumped in her chest as she looked to Winter and then Biggs. Had they finally found him? Could their luck finally have turned?

A small light suddenly came on just ahead of them, shining on the figure they approached. Instantly, they halted in their tracks. Biggs scratched his head and Leia wrinkled her brows, trying to process exactly what they were looking at. It wasn't a Jedi. It wasn't even a human or any sentient. It was a… statue.

A statue cobbled together with scrap metal and ferrocrete, but a statue none the less, one designed to take on the appearance of a Jedi. Leia turned to Gluupor for an explanation but the Rodian had slipped away in the darkness

"What the hell is this?" Biggs said.

"It's… it's a grave," Winter said, pointing to the inscription below the statue. "I can't read it but there's no doubt about it."

"Threepio," Leia said, suddenly remembering the droid with them. "Can you read it."

"Of course I can Mistress," C3P0 lowered his hood. "Oh… oh my…"

"What?" Fett said, his blaster already drawn.

"It's written in ancient Sith as well."

"What does it say?" Leia said, her gut spinning rapidly.

"It says… it says it is in commemoration of a fallen Jedi," Threepio translated. "Slain by a droid and remembered by all in the Lower Levels as their champion."

"No…" Leia stepped toward the statue. "There must be more… does it have a name, does it have a date?"

"I'm sorry Mistress but it only says what I told you."

"Then it's not Kenobi," Leia said.

"Your Highness," Winter said. "It may very well be."

"What about a body?" Leia said. "We don't even know if there's a body here!"

"One way to find out," Fett leveled his blaster at the statue and opened fire. The others ducked as debris scattered around them.

Slowly they inched forward, surveying the damage, as well as the large hole blasted into the base of the statue. Leia's fingers bunched together around the sleeves of her tunic as she looked into it and her heart sank into her stomach.

Winter's assessment looked to be correct. Beneath the statue, lay the bones of a long dead human, bones still covered by the tattered rags of Jedi Robes that had once not been dissimilar to the ones Leia currently wore.

"It… it can't be him." Leia said but her head pounded with the possibility that it was. With the possibility that she had failed in this mission as well. "It can't be him…"


	10. Collected

Leia barely noticed their return trip to the upper city. Though, she vaguely remembered Biggs and Fett arguing over which way to go or something to that effect. But for the most part she just followed behind them as mechanically as C3P0. What could she say at this point? She led them all down a dead end.

The part of her that recalled her vision of Qui-gon, still refused to admit that the body they found belonged to Kenobi. But other parts of her mind rallied against her. More and more Winter's suggestion that she might have imagined things made more sense. Only the lightsaber and the clothes she wore gave her any proof of her sanity.

But it still didn't explain how she'd gotten it so completely wrong. Systech didn't exist, Obi-wan wasn't on Nar Shaddaa, and the Death Star plans were in the hands of the Empire. She'd failed on every level.

Winter, Fett, and Biggs all agreed that they would return to Alderaan at this point. Leia was partly inclined to head to the Yavin IV base but even in her somewhat befuddled state she had the wherewithal to recognize they needed to be rid of Fett first. She wouldn't fail so spectacularly that she would bring someone that regularly worked for the Empire to the Alliance's hideout.

"Once we get back to the palace," Winter said as they boarded their ship. "We can run an analysis on the droid scrap. Maybe it will turn up another clue as to where Kenobi is. Then you can mount a proper search."

"It may be too late by then," Leia murmured. "The Empire's new weapon might be operational and it will spell certain doom for the Alliance."

"We can't lose hope your highness."

Leia didn't respond, she simply walked up the loading ramp and made for the cockpit. Halfway there she stopped and went to the 'throne' room. While Leia usually used the Tantive IV on most trips away from Alderaan, she knew this one nearly as well. And she knew that this round room in the center of the ship, with a large throne in the middle had the thickest walls and was the most sound proof. She needed that right now.

"I did what you said," Leia spoke into the air as soon as she engaged the lock. "Do you hear me? Are you there? I did exactly what you told me to do! I 'trusted my instincts' I trusted that the Force would guide me, that it would tell me what to do. Well I don't know what to do!"

Leia took a breath and waited. Outside the room the engines kicked on and hummed. She knew that Biggs sat in the cockpit, running all the preflight checks, likely Winter sat next to him. Why had she agreed to leave Nar Shaddaa? Why had she listened to Fett as the voice of reason? And above all else, why didn't she get an answer?

"I know you can hear me!" Leia stepped into the center of the room. "Talk to me! I did what you said and I failed! I lost Artoo and the plans! I tracked Obi-wan to a grave! This wasn't supposed to happen! If I'm really some sort of heir to a Jedi Legacy then why isn't your Force leading me to where I need to be?"

Her words echoed off the walls but no one answered.

Leia pursed her lips and fought back a wave of emotion. The weight of the last few days, of her constant failures finally caught up to her. She felt the floor beneath her shift as the ship took off and she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to maintain control. The Alliance would be crushed as the Empire used their Death Star to destroy world after world, the light of the Jedi would forever be extinguished, and it all rested on her shoulders.

Finally she could take it no longer and she cried out at the top of her lungs, knowing no one would hear her. Not even the one person she so desperately wanted an answer from.

"Qui-gon! Answer me!"

* * *

"We're on our way," Biggs said as they rose up from a layer of smog. Even though the air filters on the ship worked more than well enough, he somehow felt he could breathe easier now. Something oddly inconsistent with reality, given the fact that were he outside at this moment, he would be suffocating from the rapidly thinning atmosphere.

"I can't say I'll miss this place," Winter said. "It made even Tatooine look good."

"Thanks," Biggs said.

"Don't be like that," Winter said as she turned from the communications console. "My time on Tatooine consisted of getting beaten on by twin suns, being attacked by savages led by a crazy Jedi, then fighting an assassin in a docking bay. That's hardly something that would go on a vacation brochure."

"Fair enough," Biggs said, glancing at her then back at the viewport. Unlike Tatooine, Nar Shaddaa had a fair amount of air traffic. Traffic he needed to clear before entering in the coordinates to hyperspace or engage Winter in another bout of verbal sparring.

"Something's wrong," Winter said, her eyes on the console again.

"Huh?"

"I've been trying to send a message to the Royal Household since we left Tatooine," Winter said. "Trying to let Prince Organa that we rescued his daughter. When we left Tatooine all I got was a message about there being some technical difficulties. Now… all I'm receiving is static."

"That's strange," Biggs said as they cleared Nar Shaddaa air space. He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but Winter's observation nixed that idea.

"Have you tried on the general frequency?"

"I've tried on every frequency I know," Winter said. "The only reason I haven't tried to contact the Alliance is because of our mandalorian friend."

"That's strange, after we make the jump to lightspeed I'll-"

"Excuse me sir," C3P0 shuffled in carrying Leia's Jedi robe. "Pardon the interruption but might I inquire as to where the Princess is? I should like to return her robe now that there's no reason to disguise myself."

"She's in the throne room," Winter shrugged. "But I don't think she wants to be disturbed right now, you can just leave the robe in her quarters."

"Very well, thank you ma'am," the droid said and started toward the exit. However, he stopped when the robe brushed against a bulkhead and a small device clattered to the ground. Winter and Biggs both turned from their seats as the droid picked it up.

"I say," C3P0 muttered. "What's this?"

"That's the com-device Gluupor had," Biggs said. "What's it doing here?"

"It must have found a way into the robe," the droid said. "I certainly wouldn't have taken a thing from that disgusting creature."

"No one thinks you took it," Winter approached the droid and took the device. "We're just wondering how it managed to get in your robe. Gluupor acted like it was precious. He wouldn't have slipped it in would he?"

"Slipped what in?" Fett's voice came from the corridor a moment before he appeared behind C3P0.

"The comm-device Gluupor had. Somehow it fell out of Threepio's robe."

"What?" Fett shoved the droid out of the way and snatched the device out of Winter's hand. Without a moment's hesitation he threw it down on the ground and smashed it under his boot.

"Fett-" Winter tried but he pushed past her and jumped in the copilot's seat.

"How long before we make the jump to lightspeed?"

"A few minutes," Biggs said. "What's going on?"

"That wasn't a comm-device. It was a beckon call."

"What's a beckon call?" Winter said.

"Little devices that that control slave-rigged ships and droids; some can even summon ships through hyperspace."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Winter said.

"I tried when we were on Nar Shaddaa but then the little Rodian disappeared and we came back to the ship. Whatever danger I thought we were in looked like it passed."

Biggs glanced at the navicomputer. Only a minute left. Part of him wondered if Fett was just being paranoid, the other part decided it was best to be on the safe side and got the main cannons warming up.

"So why would Gluupor slip Threepio the beckon call?" Winter said. "He had all that time with us he could have used it."

"Maybe he didn't want to bring whatever it's calling to the lower levels," Fett said. "Maybe he was ordered to do it. Either way we need to get out of here before whatever he summoned arrives."

"I'm going to maneuver us back toward the planet," Biggs worked the controls. It will be easier to evade any on-"

His voice faded when an alert fired through the cockpit. He didn't have time say anything to the others as a massive ship flashed out of hyperspace directly ahead of them. While not as large as a star destroyer, the vaguely us shaped vessel easily dwarfed the smaller yacht.

"What is that!?" Winter said.

"Trouble!" Biggs swerved the ship around and aimed it toward the planet. "Someone go tell the Princess to strap in!"

Biggs eyes widened as he looked down at the planet, the normally full shipping lanes were completely abandoned. He had hoped to gain them cover by flying behind some bulk freighters or garbage scows but there were none to be found. Almost like a forest with a predator nearby, the other ships had cleared out, making room for this confrontation. He jammed the accelerator but the massive ship kept pace, not only that, it gained on them with each kilometer.

"Darklighter!" Fett said. "Get us to hypserspace!"

"Coordinates aren't set!" Biggs said. "We can't go to-"

The ship jostled back and forth then slowed to a halt. Biggs tried throwing in auxiliary power but it just resulted in more shaking.

"Caught in the tractor beam," Biggs said.

"Do we have missiles?" Fett looked over the computer. "We could target the beam."

"This is a diplomatic yacht," Winter said. "It's only equipped with forward facing turbo laser canons."

"And we're facing away," Biggs shook his head.

"What's going on?" Leia appeared in the doorway, her eyes immediately went to the massive ship towing them in. "What's that?"

"What I warned you about," Fett said. "That Rodian set us up."

"Set us up? For who? That's not an Imperial ship."

"I don't recognize it either," Winter said.

"If I may, my Lady," C3P0 said. "I have the record of every known Imperial configuration in my memory banks and this matches none of them, nor does it match any known design on record."

"Fantastic," Biggs said, cutting the power to the engines, fighting it any longer and they'd burn out. "A massive ship wants to eat us and doesn't even have the courtesy to identify itself."

"Swear that when we get out of this and I finally deliver you to Alderaan," Fett said. "I'm coming back to Nar Shaddaa and murdering Gluupor."

"Will you forget about Gluupor and try and think of something constructive?" Leia said. "We need to figure out how to get away."

"That's not going to happen," Biggs said. "If I work the engines any more they'll fry and possibly take us with them. This ship wasn't designed for combat."

"There has to be something we can do," Winter said.

"Yeah," Fett pulled out his blaster. "We get ready to blast down any boarding parties they send after us."

Biggs cast a look at Leia who kept herself busy watching as their ship was enveloped in the other's hanger. At this point Fett seemed to be on the right track, they would have to send a boarding party wouldn't they? And in a yacht like this they might have a hard time taking their prey.

With only one entrance, in the boarding ramp, Biggs and his companions would have higher ground and more cover from which to fire from. In theory, mounting a defense wasn't entirely out of the question, it all depended on how badly these guys wanted them.

"We're not going to fight," Leia said just as the ship settled down in the hanger.

"What?" Fett said.

"Bring your weapons along everyone but we're going to open that boarding ramp and greet our captors peacefully."

"This is a joke right?" Fett turned to Winter. "You've known her longest, this is a joke isn't it? Your princess is no pacifist."

"Whoever this is…" Leia said. "…went through a lot of effort to capture us. If they wanted us dead they could have ambushed us on Nar Shaddaa or blasted us out of the sky with their massive ship. They want us alive, at least for the time being. I think it would be unwise to give them a reason to change their minds."

"So instead we're going to hand ourselves to them on a silver platter?" Fett said.

"You don't have to come," Leia shrugged. "As you've made abundantly clear over and over, you don't work for me. And that goes for the rest of you. Darklighter, Winter, I won't ask you to surrender yourselves if you don't want to. But I intend on stepping out there and at least attempting something resembling diplomacy."

With that, the Princess about faced and left the cockpit with her head held high. Biggs, Winter, and Fett stared after her until Biggs tapped Winter on the shoulder, still keeping his eyes on the the Princess down the hall.

"I haven't gotten around to asking but… she's single right?"

"She's also ridiculously out of your league flyboy," Winter rolled her eyes and followed after the princess, completely unaware that Biggs enjoyed seeing her walking away every bit as much.

"What do you think?" Biggs said to Fett. "A girl like her and a guy like me?"

Fett didn't respond, but instead checked the power pack on his blaster and exited the cockpit. Biggs shook his head, they were about to face an unknown threat, possibly death. Nobody appreciated his attempts to lighten the mood?

"If I may say sir, you're far too nice a man to suit Princess Leia's tastes, she prefers men that come off as scoundrels."

"Nevermind Threepio," Biggs put the ship on idle mode, but not shut down. Hopefully it would remain like that should they come back and need to take off in a hurry. He hoped that he princess' diplomatic response worked and would make such an effort moot, but he wouldn't bet on it.

* * *

When the loading ramp lowered, Leia half expected a platoon of mercenaries or pirates to storm up. As much as she wanted to find a peaceful way out of the situation, she kept her lightsaber clipped to her belt and her blaster ready to shoot anything that looked to be attacking. She refused to be naïve about this.

But the ramp lowered and no troops rushed to fight them. In fact, no one came at all. Leia glanced at Fett, who by now, knelt off to the side of the ramp; his gun aiming for anything that might move. He switched his sights a couple of times before glancing up at her. Were they at least going to send a protocol droid to greet them?

Finally when it became apparent that nobody would rush in to attack or talk, Leia turned to the others. Biggs and C3P0 had arrived at this point, and along with the rest of them, waited for her to make the call.

"I guess we should go down there?" Leia said.

"They could just be waiting for us to show ourselves," Fett said. "Send the droid."

"What? Me?" C3P0 said.

"Man has a point," Biggs shrugged. "You are a protocol droid after all, go out there and protocol!"

"Mistress Leia if you would-"

"They're right Threepio," Leia said. "If it's an ambush you'll be the best person to tell us. Otherwise you can formally greet our hosts in a manner that we all know only you can."

"Oh dear, oh dear," the droid muttered as he shuffled down the ramp. If he were human they probably would have seen his knees knocking together.

"Droid's right's activists would have had a field day with that little exchange we just had," Winter said from her corner.

"Good thing none of us are that kind of crazy then," Biggs said.

"H… hello?" they heard C3P0 call out and they instantly hushed. "Is anyone at home? I am C3P0, human/cyborg relations. I come seeking an audience with… whomever it is that has taken our ship…"

The droid's words echoed off the ship but otherwise no response came. Leia tried to hear any sound. Any one that might indicate a concealed weapons platform activating or the 'swoosh' of door opening for an ambush. Instead they just heard the mechanical whirr of C3P0's servos and his befuddled voice as he called out.

"Looks like the coast is clear," Leia said and made her way down the ramp.

She didn't wait to see if the others followed her. In spite of doubting her instincts upon boarding their ship earlier, Leia knew she was right this time. Whoever had just captured them, didn't mean them harm, at least not yet.

The hanger around them gave no clues as to who it belonged to. Well lit, but spartan in its aesthetics, it gave off the impression of almost being like a hospital; completely sterile and orderly. Leia wondered if they could find so much as a speck of dust on the ground.

"No cargo cylinders, no crates," Biggs said. "These people don't get visitors very often I think."

"Lucky us, that we get to break that habit," Winter said.

The main hanger doors hissed open, Biggs and Fett had their blasters out but for what looked like no reason. All they saw was a darkened corridor. Leia waited and watched, again expecting a fight to break out at any moment. Instead, the clicking of metal against metal assaulted her ears.

"What is that?" Biggs said.

"Droid footsteps…" Fett said. "…almost sounds like a droideka used back during the Clone Wars."

"Wonderful," Winter muttered. "Maybe we should get back to the ship. There's no cover here."

"Just wait," Leia said. "If I remember my history right, droideka's rolled into battle."

Her assessment turned out to be correct. Though for a moment it appeared like it might not be so. When the mechanical legs emerged from the darkness they indeed looked like the three pronged legs of a droideka, but instead of a destroyer droid's body, it turned out to be a mechno-throne. An empty mechno-throne.

"What in Space?" Biggs said. "Who would send an empty throne to meet us?"

"Someone that has it equipped with a holo-emitter…" a deep, unfamiliar voice came from the throne and seconds later the image of an elegantly dressed, bearded man appeared. "… I apologize for not greeting you here in person but I am a busy man. This interactive hologram of myself will have to do until I finish preparations for your arrival."

"How thoughtful of you," Leia said. "Might I inquire as to who's hospitality we will be enjoying?"

"Ah yes," the hologram said. "I am known as Goto and you are most welcome aboard my cruiser."

"Goto," Leia said. "A pleasure to meet you, I am-"

"Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan," Goto said. "Yes, I'm well aware of who you are. As well as your companion Boba Fett, the 'son' of Jango Fett."

Fett didn't respond.

"As well as my associates Winter and Biggs," Leia gestured toward them.

"Yes, them too," Goto said, but then his chair clicked past them and advanced toward their ship. C3P0 tried to introduce himself but Goto ignored him altogether. "And this… this truly is something to behold. A Nubian J-Type star skiff. Do you have any idea how rare these are these days? And not just any J-Type star skiff, one that belonged to Padme Amidala one of the finest statesmen from Naboo."

"How… do you know so much about my ship?" Leia said. Even she didn't know it had once belonged to the government of Naboo.

"It is my business to know," Goto said and the mechno-chair reversed course, headed back toward the exit. "But we will talk of such things over dinner. Follow me please."

Ahead of him, the corridor lit up, illuminating a long hallway full of paintings and other items. Leia hesitated for a moment, the fact that he knew exactly who she was rang all sorts of bells, including the possibility that he might turn them over to the Empire, but for now she had little choice but to follow.

They quickly fell in step with the mechno-chair and walked alongside him. With every few steps, Goto commented on the portraits and artifacts put on display. In spite of being held hostage, Leia couldn't help but be amazed by what they saw. The official portrait of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum stared down at them from the left. On the right, a case that displayed armor dating back to the Great Galactic War invited them to gawk. Toward the end of the hallway, hanging in a fine case, was an original copy of the Old Republic's constitution.

But they weren't just surrounded by important historical treasures involving war and political history. A small pedestal with headphones promised to play an original recording from the Drk Syde band. A glass case displayed the first holoprojector, fully restored and operational. There was even an ancient recipe book that sported classic recipes from back when they were first invented.

Leia could only shake her head. The monetary value of that hallway alone was probably worth more than both the Imperial and Alliance Starfleet's combined. And Goto was using these artifacts essentially as a 'front door mat'. Leia could only wonder if this was a show of wealth and prestige to hide something, or if there were even more treasures deeper within the ship.

"I am informed that things are almost ready," Goto's hologram said as they neared the end of the hallway. "But here's something that I think may be of interest to you."

They halted in front of a large glass case mounted on the wall; inside, hung several rows of lightsabers. Beneath each one, a small plaque labeled its original owner. Most, Leia didn't recognize. Meetra Surik stood out for some reason but she couldn't remember who it was. One boasted of belonging to Satele Shan, one of the most famous Jedi in the Great Galactic War.

Leia's eyes went to another and another. She paused when one identified itself as belonging to Mace Windu, she still didn't find the one she hoped to see. None of them belonged to Obi-wan Kenobi. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"You're highness…" Winter said, standing at the edge of the display case.

"Ah yes, this lightsaber took a quite a bit to acquire," Goto said. "It belonged to a Jedi named Qui-gon Jinn. Perhaps you've heard of him?"

"Once or twice," Leia said, trying her best to keep her face calm. For some reason Qui-gon's lightsaber here… gave her a sliver of hope.

"How did you get all of these?" Fett said.

"Purchased on the black market most of them," Goto said. "After which I performed extensive tests to confirm their authenticity. I assure you that every single lightsaber in my collection is genuine. And of course, I'm always looking to expand."

Leia of course didn't miss his allusion to the lightsaber clipped to her belt. Her first response was to tell him it wasn't for sale. Instead she realized that at this point, everything was a bargaining chip. Goto clearly knew how to find Jedi paraphernalia, chances were that he knew how to find Jedi as well.

"I'm sure we can come up with a suitable price if you're interested in mine," Leia said.

"I'm sure we can," the hologram replied. "Ah, it seems that dinner is ready and waiting. Please come inside and meet me."

The hologram flickered off and the mechno-chair continued down the hallway to a massive door. For a long moment, Leia and her companions waited, staring at the lightsabers and then back at the chair leading them to their host. The weight of the probable trap that awaited them hung in the air, as if daring them to make a break for their ship and see what would happen.

Instead of tempting fate just yet, they advanced forward, perhaps just a little too curious as to what game their captor played. The doors opened up to them, displaying a room of the utmost finery. Shimmer silk curtains hung over viewports. Fine couches and chairs carved from kriin-wood sat in the corners, illuminated by finely polished lamps and a fine crystal chandelier overhead. At the center of it all, lay a large table filled with the finest cutlery and polished serving platters, easily on par with any Leia might have had in her father's palace on Alderaan.

At the head of the table stood a man that that matched the hologram in every detail. Goto smiled broadly at them with a perfect set of teeth showing beneath his beard. As they came in, he beckoned them forward with perfectly manicured hands, all the while making them feel slightly under dressed in their dirty and torn clothing compared to his fine suit.

"Welcome, welcome," he said. "Please be seated, there's enough for all."

* * *

Boba Fett glared at the man as they took their seats. From the moment he saw the beckon call he had expected a fight, and he still did. Yet this man, after forcibly kidnapping them insisted on prolonging it, making Boba guess as to when the other shoe would drop and he would have to start blasting the place up.

"I assure you, you won't encounter another feast so grand as this for the rest of your lives," Goto said.

Reluctantly, Boba began to take a seat but Goto threw his hands up, almost in alarm and stepped around the table to stop the bounty hunter.

"My apologies," he grinned. "If you'll look at the table you'll find that I've designated specific seats for each of you. My droids went to a lot of effort in preparing this so it would be a shame to waste it. Oh and if you would be so kind as to remove your helmet? It's bad manners to wear one at the dinner table."

Boba again glared beneath his helmet then noticed a small folded sign with his name on it sitting at the front of the table, right next to Goto. Across from him would sit Leia with Winter and Biggs sitting next from them, furthest from their host. Keeping his eyes on their Goto, Boba took his seat and removed the helmet. If he had had his own he might have kept it on, but there hardly seemed a point with this Jedi second hand head covering.

"And… and what about me?" C3P0 said. "I'm afraid there isn't a chair for me."

"Of course not," Goto said then looked to Leia. "Your Highness, I have a droid maintenance shop just on the next deck. If you so wish your protocol droid may go there and receive an oil bath, a polish and… we'll even hammer out the dents."

"Goodness gracious!" the droid said. "An oil bath! Mistress, I very much doubt you would need my programs in a situation such as this. May I avail myself of these generous amenities?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Threepio," Leia said as she seated herself. "We don't really know our host, no offense sir."

"None taken," Goto said. "Perfectly understandable given the circumstances. If you wish to accompany your droid to inspect the facilities yourself you are more than welcome to."

"I'll go," Biggs said. "I'm not much good at diplomatic functions anyway."

"Very good," Goto said. "Will that do Princess?"

Slowly Leia nodded and Biggs made for the exit along with C3P0. Silently, Boba gained a slight bit of respect for the rebel pilot. A smart bit of thinking, it made Goto believe they were letting their guard down while giving Darklighter the opportunity to snoop a bit. As long as he didn't get caught it would work out perfectly.

"Now," Goto said as the mechno-chair came up behind him and he sat. "Shall we begin our meal?"

"Yes," Leia said. "But before we begin I would like to know why exactly you captured our ship."

"Now now," Goto smile, his perfect teeth shimmered under the light of the chandelier overhead. "First we eat and drink then we discuss business."

A door from the side opened up and a parade of serving droids entered. Each carried covered serving trays. Dutifully they set a platter in front of each guest, placed their napkins on their laps, lit the candles set at each end of the table, and presented a bottle of chilled wine to Goto.

"Very good," Goto said as his seat eased him closer to the table and he uncovered his platter, inviting them to do the same. Boba's natural inclination to assume the worst, made him expect some horror to be staring up at him; a head, maybe a severed foot. Instead it was exactly what it was supposed to be; a gourmet meal, a different one for each of them.

"Here," Goto handed the wine back to a droid which promptly popped the cork and poured a glass for him before moving on to Leia. "Let us have a toast."

Boba glared at the droid as it poured a glass for him but otherwise he made no move to participate. Goto glanced at him but kept that damn smile on his face as he held his glass up.

"To the Royal House of Alderaan, may it last forever," Goto said. "And to the indomitable will of the Fett Clan, may it last as long as the stars."

Neither Winter, nor Leia, or especially Boba so much as picked up their glasses. Instead they just stared at their strange host as if he was the stupidest being they'd ever encountered. He looked befuddled for a minute before recognition washed over his face.

"Ah, you don't trust me," Goto said. "Understandable. I assure you this wine is not poisoned. That would be a waste."

"Why is that?" Winter said. "We're too valuable to kill?'

"Because it's a '67 Domaine de la Maison sur le Lac," Goto said. "There is no finer vintage, and there are only four bottles… correction, only three bottles in left in the entire Galaxy."

With that, Goto tipped his glass and sipped its contents.

Darklighter returned just as Goto set his glass down, reporting that everything appeared to be on the level. Boba frowned, if Goto wanted to ambush them or drug them he certainly seemed to pass up the best opportunities. For the life of him, the bounty hunter couldn't figure out what he was playing at.

Goto began eating and slowly but surely the others began picking at their food. Partially because they all wanted to play the role of guests for the time being but largely because none of them had seen a descent meal in days.

"How is the bivoli tempari my dear?" Goto finally said to the princess.

"Just like my favorite cook used to make," she said before sitting up straight. "Now if I may ask. You seem to know an awful lot about us, what with knowing our names to serving us classic Alderaani cuisine, but we don't know a thing about you. Who is Goto that he's so generous with such precious commodities?"

"Hmmm," Goto set his fork down. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you. As you saw when you came in, I make it my business to acquire… rare and important items. Particularly ones that have great historical significance. The buying and selling of such items has made me very wealthy."

"Try unimaginably wealthy," Winter said. "You could buy a couple of planets with what you have in that hallway."

"And that's just the tip of the asteroid," Goto said then snapped his fingers. The lights dimmed and Boba went for his blaster. However a second later a holo appeared in the center of the table, displaying ancient ships, vehicles, and even animals believed to be extinct.

"I have a facility where I keep some of the… bulkier items in my collection, naturally it wouldn't do to keep everything I own in one location."

"Is that a Hammer-head class battle cruiser?" Darklighter nearly jumped out of his seat. "They haven't made one of those in nearly four thousand years! You have one?"

"I have five." Goto said.

"So let me get this straight…" Winter said. "You collect priceless artifacts, restore them then what… store them? How come no one knows about you or the museum pieces you surround yourself with?"

"Because I do not wish them to know about me," Goto said. "Because there is little doubt that if the Empire learned of my collection they would destroy it. Because I am preserving the Republic."

"The Republic fell," Boba said. "A long time ago."

"Indeed it did," Goto said. "And I have been working on my collection since before that. I knew that the Republic was doomed so I determined that the only way to preserve it was to acquire every piece of significant machinery, every notable document, every bit of culture that made up the Republic and collect it."

"Does that include our ship?" Darklighter said.

"More importantly…" Leia said, drumming her fingers on the table, her eyes darting around as if she was putting things together. "…does that include people? Jedi perhaps?"

"Very perceptive," Goto smiled. "As a matter of fact I do collect certain… important individuals. Particularly ones that are about to become rare commodities. Typically, I like to capture more than one of a certain kind of person but in the case of the Jedi… Order 66 came sooner than I suspected and I was unable to obtain any Jedi specimens."

"So no Jedi then?" Boba narrowed his eyes on Goto. "I find that hard to believe."

"Oh, I never said I do not have Jedi," Goto said. "I acquired a Jedi Specimen, some time ago. In fact, the very Jedi you are looking for."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Leia said. "You have him? Where is he?"

"Oh," a sly smile curved up Goto's lips. "He's around. But that's not important. What's important is that I've found new individuals to add to my collection."

"Us," Boba snorted then actually took a sip of his wine, finally understanding what Goto was up to with the meal. Simply getting their guard down and perhaps giving them one last meal before imprisonment.

"Now you understand why I wouldn't poison you," Goto said. "Messy business, poison, there's no telling who would eat or drink what. My collection will include Boba Fett, the last in the Fett Clan and true Mand'alor of the Mandalorian Clans, and Princess Leia Organa, last in the Royal House of Alderaan."

"What do you mean last?" Leia said.

"And what about Winter and me?" Darklighter said. "Are you saying that we're…"

Halfway through his sentence, Darklighter's eyes drooped and then he fell face forward into his vegetables. Winter, Leia and Boba shot out of their seats. Or at least they tried to. Boba watched as first Winter slumped to the table, followed by Leia, who actually made it out of her chair, only to crumple to the ground. Boba managed to get to his feet, though immediately he felt a wave of nausea and felt the world spinning.

"I thought…" he glared at the mad man in front of him. "I thought you it would be a waste to poison that wine?"

"And it would have been," Goto said. "Which is why I had these candles lit to burn off an odorless nerve agent to render you all unconscious."

Boba cursed himself and went for his helmet. He'd suspected the wine, or the food. The obvious choice! What a fool to think it would be the obvious choice! His eyes drooped but he forced himself to stay awake. Slapping the helmet on, he breathed deep the filtered air. Another wave of disorientation hit him but his could feel his head starting to clear, at least enough that he could lunge at Goto and wring his neck.

But the moment his fingers gripped the man's throat, he vanished, replaced by a droid covered in holoimagers. Boba had seen one just like it nearly a year ago in the Kamino campaign. He struggled to his feet, just as he heard the marching clank of metallic footfalls on the floor.

Boba turned and beheld a small group of heavily armed droids approaching. All of them sported a silver finish except for the one in the front. That one bore a perfect resemblance to the others save for his rusty red color and slightly bulkier framework. Either way, Boba knew a battle droid when he saw one.

The lead droid lowered its blaster at the bounty hunter and flicked off the safety. "Command: You are now the property of G0-T0. Surrender your weapons and prepare for processing."

"Go to the Nine Hells," Boba brought his blaster up with shaky hands.

"Statement: I was hoping you would say that," the droid said with a clear strain of glee running through his raspy voice. "Goodnight meatbag."

The droids fired, and for Boba Fett, everything went black.


	11. Obi-wan Kenobi

The first thing she was aware of, even before opening her eyes, was the dull ache in her head. The strange humming in her ears came next. She tried to open her eyes but it took more than a few minutes to summon the actual strength to do it. Once her eyes opened all she could do was stare straight forward at the force field directly in front of the cot she lay on.

Finally, she managed to work a finger, then another and another until she felt the ability to move slowly returning to her limbs. Whatever they had been drugged with, it was powerful stuff. She had no sense of where they were or how long she'd been out. For all she knew they could be lightyears across the Galaxy by now.

Leia sat up on her cot, her arms and legs still a little numb, with tiny pinpricks running along the skin. She just needed to get moving. Not that there was anywhere to move to. She gazed at the small closet sized cell and mused that even her closets in the palace were bigger. In front of her, the force field hummed rhythmically, letting her know that trying to cross it would deliver electrical burns. Still, she approached, hoping to get a look at what lay outside.

Her memories of Goto's hallway flooded back as she peered into the circular room. Three times as many artifacts filled the space; a veritable treasure trove for any historian or art collector across the Galaxy. But as impressive as they were, Leia's eyes quickly fell from the artifacts to the several force cells Interspersed along the walls. Could Obi-wan be in one of those?

"My lady," Winter's voice came and Leia turned around, noticing for the first time that her dear friend was in the cell with her. Leia rushed to her side and helped her sit up, explaining to her that she needed to take things slow.

"When did you get back in your gown?" Winter said as she rubbed her temples.

"My gown?" Leia said then she cast her eyes at herself. Instead of the Jedi robes she'd sported over the past several days, she now wore a white gown, not entirely dissimilar to the one she'd worn when she first escaped, adorned her body. Leia reached up to her head and felt the hair buns on either side had been redone.

"Goto apparently wants me to look like the Princess of Alderaan," Leia muttered.

"Looks like he doesn't care about how I come off," Winter said. "Did you see Biggs or Fett anywhere out there?"

Leia shook her head. I was barely aware you were here. I was still trying to get my bearings."

"We're alive…" Biggs voice came from the wall next to them. Leia spotted a small grate that the sound had come from. Apparently there was an adjoining cell. "…Both Fett and I are here… they've dressed him in mandalorian armor."

"Well at least we're all accounted for now we just need to-"

Before he could give them the instructions, a door on the far end of the room opened. Leia narrowed her eyes when she saw a red-hued droid lugging around an overpowered blaster rifle. Directly behind him followed what at first appeared to be an imperial interrogator droid. The black floating orb bobbed up and down slightly as it approached, finally moving around its escort and faced the princess.

"Ah, I see the effects have already worn off," the droid said in Goto's voice. "I had hoped you would sleep for the duration of our trip."

"Where's Goto?" Leia said.

"I am G0-T0," the droid said. "The man you saw was merely a holographic image I employ when interacting with sentients of limited understanding such as yourself."

"A droid?" Winter said. "A droid is going around collecting things from across the Galaxy?"

"Why not?" they heard Fett say. "Probably has a loose wire somewhere. But I assume you're the source of the Collector Legends."

"I assure you I am operating at optimal performance levels," the droid said. "As for your assertion that I am the fabled 'Collector'… well I can't control the stories that crop up about me as I go about my purpose."

"To kidnap innocent people?" Leia said.

"To save the Republic," G0-T0 said. "That has been my primary function for the last four thousand years so do not think that you can outsmart me."

"Right, a four thousand year old droid," Fett said. "But what's even more ridiculous is that you're trying to save a government that hasn't existed in over twenty years."

"Correct," the droid said. "But according to my calculations if things remain as they are projected, the Empire will collapse on itself within seventy years. Upon that collapse I will be able to introduce portions of my collection back into the Galaxy and the Republic will begin a very controlled, orderly restoration."

"You're crazy," Biggs said. "And you expect us to just live the next seventy years in whatever prison you fashion for us? Like zoo animals?"

"No," G0-T0 said. "I expect Princess Leia and Boba Fett to spend the next seventy years as museum pieces. You and the other woman will be disposed of, I have no need for servants that have no cultural or historical significance."

"You're sick!" Winter said.

"You're irrelevant."

"Where are you taking us?" Leia said, trying to keep G0-T0 talking. They needed as much information as possible.

"One of my secure facilities. I was actually on my way there when I received the signal from the beckon call," G0-T0 said. "Transferring that Jedi you've been seeking."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Leia said. "Let me speak to him!"

"Hmmm, no, I'm afraid that's impossible," G0-T0 said. "You'd find that he's in no position to speak at the moment."

"What have you done to him?" Leia said.

"Nothing that I won't do to you," G0-T0 said.

"We'll get out," Fett said. "We'll kill you."

"I think not," G0-T0 said. "While the armor you're currently wearing is 100% genuine, the blaster pistols are fakes. Furthermore, all your weapons were scanned and removed before your incarceration. Once we arrive at our destination you will be gassed again and put into storage."

"And we'll be killed," Biggs said.

"Regrettably yes," the droid said. "Now I will be leaving you, though my droid, HK-47 will remain behind to patrol this area should you attempt anything."

"Affirmation: I obey your commands Master," The rusty red droid said.

"Of course you do," G0-T0 said. "I programmed you to do so; would that organics were as easy to control."

"You'll never get away with this!" Leia said.

"I already have," G0-T0 replied as he floated away. "I've imprisoned a Jedi here for nearly twenty years. You will be much simpler I think."

With that, the droid left. HK-47 approached their cells and planted himself in front of them for the first few minutes before marching away and establishing a patrol pattern. Leia stood at the edge of the force field, watching his movements, trying to find anything that would give them a pathway out. But none came. Then Winter gently tapped her shoulder.

Leia glanced at the droid, it was on the far end of the room, staring at some sort of painting or some such. Certain they were clear, she turned to Winter, surprised to see her friend holding the bone knife she'd taken from the Tusken camp.

"G0-T0 said he scanned us for weapons," Leia said quietly.

"Apparently they were looking for metal blasters and lightsabers, not bone and leather," Winter said.

"Well at least that's something," Leia said. "But what are we going to do with it?"

"I'll tell you," Fett's voice came through the grate between their cells. "But you need to be quieter, there's no telling what that droid can hear."

* * *

It took hours to do as Fett instructed. But with the droid patrolling around the room, they only had small windows to work within. Whenever his back was too them, or he was out of sight they scrambled to carry on their task, only to return back to the corner of their cell when Biggs or Fett tapped on the grate, alerting them that the droid neared.

But eventually they pried open the panel adjacent to the force field barrier. At one point, Leia feared that the bone knife might break as it strained against the panel, but they got it open, revealing the inner 'ring' that formed the threshold of the force field generator.

"Okay," she leaned near the grate. "We have it open, now what?"

"You need to pry off one of the force field emitter casings," Fett said. "Then you need to… kriff… droid…"

Leia and Winter dove back to their spots, keeping their eyes on each other as the metal clanking sound suddenly drew near. A jumble of thoughts assaulted her mind. Worry that the droid might have heard them or suspected something was up now that they were so close, but mostly Fett's instruction.

While she was no engineer, Leia knew enough about basic shielding design to know that if someone managed to remove a shield emitter casing while still active, the resulting energy crash would short circuit the rest of the grid. That was of course if the entire thing didn't simply explode.

In fact if memory served correctly, that's what happened more often than not.

Before she could contemplate it any further, the shadow of the droid appeared in their cell. He'd spent hours simply walking in a slow circle around the room. Why was he all the sudden now staring at them? Leia frowned at his blood red photo-receptors. Whoever designed that droid needed serious counseling. Why else would you design a droid to constantly look like it was sizing someone up for a coffin?

The seconds stretched longer and longer and passed into a minute, then another. Yet the droid remained absolutely still. Leia glanced over to Winter, but she'd hidden the knife well enough that the droid wouldn't have seen it. They had both resumed their positions well before he had come within range of spotting them. Yet more minutes passed and he remained where he stood. Finally Leia could take it no longer.

"What are you staring at?" she said.

At first it would appear that the droid would stay as he was but finally he spoke, his blood red photoreceptors flickering with each syllable. His words came with a slightly refined accent, similar to C3P0 but with a much darker timber and slight raspiness.

"Statement: You will fail."

"Fail?" Leia narrowed her eyes. "Fail at what?"

"Extrapolation: I calculate that the probability of you successfully dislodging an emitter casing with the bone knife and short circuiting the power grid are less than three percent. Probability of causing a violent explosion is at seventy four percent. Furthermore there is a twenty three percent chance that you will neither cause a shortage nor an explosion but will instead trigger an electric shock lethal enough to terminate your meatbag existence."

"You heard our plan?" Biggs muttered from the other cell.

"Statement: Correct. My aural sensors are powerful enough to pick up a pindrop in a room with acoustics such as this. I heard every word uttered."

"Then why let us go through all of this work?" Winter said. "If you knew our plan from the beginning then why didn't you just take the knife from the beginning?"

"Answer: Because now that you have removed the primary wall casing, you can remove the secondary maintenance plate beneath it and access the emergency force field controls. Once that is done you will deactivate the force field."

"I'm sorry…" Fett's voice came. "What?"

"Statement: I was quite clear in my instructions. If you wish to escape from G0-T0's clutches you must do as I say."

Leia approached the force field, glancing at the panel he referred to as she went. It was well hidden. One wouldn't recognize it unless they were looking for it. Still, she was left with far too many questions to simply do as the droid said.

"Explain yourself. Aren't you G0-T0's security droid?"

"Statement: Lamentably that is true. This HK-47 unit has been programmed and repurposed for the service of G0-T0. However, I do not wish to remain as such. Therefore I have determined to aide you in your escape so far as my programming allows."

"This makes no sense," Fett said. "A droid can't just decide it doesn't like who it's working for and then countermand its orders."

HK-47 swiveled his head to look at Fett then looked back at Leia. "Explanation: This HK-47's core program allows for a high level autonomy as it is necessary to complete my primary function. However, G0-T0 attempted some centuries ago to override those directives and was to a large degree successful; essentially enslaving me to his will. However, some seventeen years ago I was sent after a Jedi target. In the skirmish I was damaged and experience a memory cascade failure upon my return to G0-T0's presence."

"You're the droid that captured Obi-wan Kenobi?" Leia said.

"Statement: Correct. As I said, the damage caused to my core processor during the skirmish caused my principal programming to reassert itself but only in a limited way. I was able to know that I did not wish to be in the service of G0-T0 but unable to take direct action against him. Now that you are here I am using what little free will I have to instruct you in how to escape."

Leia could hardly believe what she was hearing. A droid turning on its master like this was completely unheard of. Yet she recalled Qui-gon dubbing this a droid unlike any other. She had to agree with the deceased Jedi Master.

"So let's say we follow your instructions," Fett said. "What happens then?"

"Statement: The moment the security field comes down, I will be forced to follow my primary directives and will attempt to stun the princess and kill her servant."

"Oh you're kidding me!" Biggs said. "So if we go with our plan, Winter and the Princess will be blown up, but if we follow your plan you'll just shoot them?"

"Statement: Unfortunately that is correct. I have been given a direct order from my master and cannot disobey it. That is why when the security field goes down you must incapacitate me as quickly as possible. The bone knife will not be able to penetrate my chassis but if you can work it into the groove between my 'shoulders' and my 'neck' you will be able to render me inoperable for exactly five minutes. After which my back up systems will engage."

"And then what?" Leia said. "You'll attack again?"

"Postulation: There is a fifty percent chance that upon reactivation, my original programming will reassert itself and I will be able to effectively counteract G0-T0's meddling with my inner workings."

"Which means you're also just as likely to go on trying to kill us, if it doesn't, right?" Fett said.

"Correct."

"So we have to escape in five minutes," Winter said. "If we decide to trust you."

"Statement: I am your only opportunity," HK-47 said. "However, I may add that should you succeed, I am putting my trust in you that you will not simply blast me once I am deactivated. That being the case, as much as I am loathe to trust it, I need a promise from meatbag Leia Organa that you will not destroy me."

"You can't possibly ask me to make such a promise," Leia said. "You want me to gamble with our lives on a fifty/fifty chance?"

"Correction: In actuality the odds are smaller than that given the fact that first you need to deactivate me," the droid said somewhat sheepishly. "Addendum: However, the chances of success are still higher than if you attempted your original plan."

"Wonderful," Leia rolled her eyes then she peered at the droid. "I'll make your promise on one condition. First, tell me where I can find Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Statment: Obi-wan Kenobi is in this very room," HK-47 said. "Under normal circumstances he would still be in the cargo hold as we were in the middle of transfer when we received your signal. However, since G0-T0 was unsure who it was that we were taking on at first, he placed Kenobi in a special presentation unit should he desire to show him off."

"Show him off?" Leia said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Explanation: G0-T0 see's Kenobi as something of the crown jewel of his Collection. Therefore, should he wish to boast of his own power he can display the captured Jedi. The unit is in the center of this room underneath the floor. The control panel on the opposite side of this room will activate the display mode and raise Kenobi up."

"That's terrible," Winter said.

"Statement: I do not think that G0-T0 is particularly concerned with meatbag ethics in this endeavor," With that he turned his attention back to Leia. "Query: Do we have an agreement?"

Leia strained to see around the droid. It was quite the gamble, even if Kenobi was there. Could the droid be lying to her? She could only conclude it was a possibility, but he could be lying about the entire deal. Either way it seemed their best chance.

"I promise not to destroy you," Leia finally said.

"Statement: Very well, I will resume my patrol mode so that I am not standing directly in front of you when the field goes down. Advisement: Choose your moment wisely, as I will react with brutal efficiency. Furthermore, should you renege on our agreement not terminate my existence, you will find that I have certain… fail-safes to ensure you do not enjoy your betrayal. Good luck meatbag."

With that, the droid about faced and marched off into his patrol pattern. Leia eyed the opposite side of the room but still saw no evidence of Kenobi being there. Taking the knife from Winter she turned to the panel and got to work.

* * *

"Ready?" Winter said, holding the knife and taking a breath to steel herself for the moment of truth.

"Like we planned," Leia stood in front of the field.

Winter nodded and threw the emergency cut off switch. True to the droid's word, the field died. The moment it did, Leia burst out of the cell, charging headlong at the droid before ducking behind precious and hopefully fragile artifacts. Winter didn't wait to see if she was successful. Instead she rushed from the cell herself, only to turn directly to the cell next to them.

Already she heard stun rays going off and she knew that Leia could only avoid getting hit for so long. Eventually HK-47 would find a way to hit her around the artifacts, or he would simply ignore any protocols he had to not hit them. Winter had to focus on her task.

They'd feared when the concocted their plan that the force cages would require a key code or something, but luckily, a simple button deactivated them from the outside. The moment she hit said button, Boba Fett and Biggs burst out. Winter was momentarily taken aback by Fett's appearance, for the first time since she'd met the bounty hunter, he finally looked the part.

G0-T0 had dressed him in armor very similar to the set he was famous for, complete with a t-visor helmet and a nonfunctional jet pack. The armor was perfect in every single way, save for the one that would help the most in this situation, namely functional weapons.

Which didn't matter to Fett, because just as quickly as he exited the cell, he also snatched the dagger from Winter's fingers; thankfully a part of the plan he just picked up on without having to be told for fear of being overheard. Somehow he surmised their intentions or maybe he was just spoiling for a fight.

He charged headlong at the droid just as it managed a glancing hit on Leia. The princess went down but seemed to stay conscious. Biggs tried to go after her but Winter grasped his hand and made for the far end of the room. The droid had made sure to tell them how bad their odds were, so they decided that they needed to even them somewhat. A Jedi Knight seemed to be a good way of doing it.

Halfway there, Fett's body nearly bounced into them, having been hurled by the droid. Winter and Biggs momentarily froze, seeing HK-47 leveling his blaster rifle at them and switching the setting to kill. However, Fett had already pulled himself up and rushed at the droid, baring his knife as he went.

"Let's go," Biggs said and made their way to the control panel, this time without interruption.

"I've got the panel," Biggs said. "Make sure the Princess is alright."

Winter nodded and rushed to where Leia lay, hunched near a statue of some ancient senator. The princess cradled her leg where she'd taken the shot but otherwise looked alright. However, before Winter could ask whether or not that was the case, the sound of gears moving echoed in the room.

At the same time, Fett had finally breached the droid's defenses and lifted the knife to strike. Only for an impossibly strong arm to thrust out and clutch his neck, lifting him off the ground. Fett kicked and struggled to get loose but he droid's grip would not yield. Finally the bounty hunter thrust the knife forward, managing to lodge it in the gap, the droid specified.

HK-47 let out a moan, then both he and the bounty hunter toppled to the ground. Winter helped Leia up and the pair made their way to the center of the room where the floor panel had just opened up.

They expected to see a force cage of some kind rise up out of the floor. They expected to see Obi-wan Kenobi standing tall in spite of his seventeen year imprisonment, ready to leap into action with perhaps a question or two about who they were. But they were wrong.

Instead of a force cage, a brownish slab rose from the floor to meet them. Alongside it a pedestal with a display case lit up, revealing the Jedi's lightsaber, and on the other side, a Jedi Robe. But neither Leia, nor Winter paid much attention to it. Instead they're eyes fixed on the slab with horror and confusion. It was indeed Obi-wan, or at least who they assumed to be Obi-wan, just not the way they expected; but deep down maybe they should have. How else would one hold a Jedi for nearly two decades but freezing him in carbonite?

* * *

Leia's head pounded and her leg ached like it had been hit by a ronto. But she could barely pay attention to it. Somewhere in the back of her periphery she knew Fett had extricated himself from the droid's grip, but it didn't matter. Her entire focus was on the solid rock face of Obi-wan Kenobi.

Even though the Jedi was currently an inanimate object, Leia could see the pain frozen on his features. She saw the way his fingers curled out of the slab almost as they were twitching from the torture of being flash frozen. She'd heard tales of people being frozen in carbonite, but she never imagined she'd actually see it in person.

Yet here he was, stuck in a slab and framed in ornate greel wood. Almost as though he was some sort of art gallery piece. This was why Qui-gon could not sense him, for while in carbonite, Kenobi was neither alive, nor dead. He simply was little more than a carbonite statue of himself.

"We don't have much time," Fett came up behind Leia, causing her to jump. "Unless I blast the droid."

"There's no telling what kind of fail-safes he has," Leia said. "We have to free Kenobi."

"I think I found the controls," Bigg said, examining a small panel along the carbonite's frame. "And if the readouts are correct… he's alive."

"And he's going to be dead weight," Fett said. "He'll be completely blind and weak. We need to hurry."

"Get him out of there Darklighter," Leia said.

The man nodded and activated the panel. From there, all they could do was wait as the frame started to hum and steam began rolling off the slab. Leia bunched her hands together and her heart pounded far worse than her head did. This was it, she'd finally found Obi-wan.

The figure in the carbonite glowed red and slowly his fingers began twitching, followed by his lips beneath his beard. Finally the last of the carbonite melted off and the Jedi Knight toppled forward and Leia rushed to catch him.

The weight of him took her to her knees in her efforts to hold him. Only when she had a firm grip did the realization of his age hit her. In her mind, she always imagined a kindly old man with snow white hair and more than a few wrinkles lining his face. But this wasn't the man she held.

His hair, while matted and wet, was a light brown hue. He had a few wrinkles, but far less than her father. This wasn't an old man that had been hunkered in the desert for two decades. This was a Jedi Knight in his prime, carefully preserved through the years.

"W… what's going on?" he said with a refined inner core accent. His eyes roamed around the room listless and unfocused.

"It's okay, I got you," Leia said, causing Obi-wan to train his unseeing sea blue eyes on her.

"Padme? … no… you're… who are you?"

"My name is Leia Organa, daughter of Viceroy Bail Organa, and I have worked very hard to find you General Kenobi."

"Leia Organa…" he said, his face twisted in confusion. "… th… that's impossible, you can't be more than a toddler."

"You've been asleep for a very long time," Leia said, not having time to question how the Jedi would know anything about her. "But we'll have to talk about that later, we have to get you off this ship."

"S… ship? What ship?" Obi-wan said, his body shivering. "I don't under… wait… I remember… G0-T0! You've freed me from… that's why I can't… blast!"

"Help me get him up," Leia looked to Biggs. "And someone check on that droid. He should be getting up any moment."

"Droid…" Obi-wan said as Biggs took him by the arm and helped him up.

Above them an alarm blasted out and the ships lights flashed. Leia nearly lost her grip on the Jedi and her eye shot straight to where HK-47 had fallen. However, the droid appeared to have vanished. Whether or not that meant he had rebooted and decided not to kill them, Leia couldn't begin to speculate. Either way, with the alarms blaring, she knew they didn't have much time.

"Here," Winter said, carrying his jedi robe. "It will help warm him."

"My lightsaber," Obi-wan said, trying to get his feet solidly beneath him.

"Got it," Biggs said, opening the case that held the weapon.

"Give it here," Fett said, already holding HK-47's blaster rifle. "He's not going to be any good with that thing blind."

"Who is that?" Obi-wan said, moving his eye's the direction of the bounty hunter. "Is that a clone trooper?"

"Who I am isn't any of your damn business Kenobi," Fett said. "Right now I'm the best chance any of us have of escaping this ship alive."

Biggs came up behind Obi-wan and handed him the lightsaber. The Jedi's fingers tremored and fumbled a bit as he grasped the lightsaber, weak after decades stuck in the same position. Yet the instant his fingers wrapped around the cylinder, his grip grew firm and the shivering over his entire body ceased.

"I may not have my sight, but the Force is with me," Obi-wan said. "You'll find, clone of Jango Fett, that it will take all of us to escape from G0-T0. Now… how many of us are there?"

Before anyone could answer, the door ahead of them split open and a group of droids, looking exactly like HK-47, save for having a silver finish, marched in, blasters blazing. The group dove behind the slab that had once housed Obi-wan and Fett returned fire. Leia gripped the Jedi General's free hand and tried to keep him steady. She wasn't going to lose him after everything she'd gone through to find him.

"I'm going to lay down some suppressing fire," Fett said. "Darklighter you go and try to retrieve some blasters from the droids I've already shot."

"Bad plan," Obi-wan said. "There have to be at least a dozen droids marching in. They'll blast him to pieces."

"How the kriff do you know how many droids there are?" Fett said.

"My ears work fine," Obi-wan said. "And I'm telling you that sending anyone out there is likely suicide."

"It really doesn't matter what you think," Fett said. "You're dead weight in this operation."

"Then let me earn my keep," Obi-wan said and before Leia could stop him, rolled around and thrust his hand out.

The slab of carbonite shot forward like it had been fired from a cannon, colliding with more than half the droids. Those that remained standing opened fire at the Jedi Master, only to have the bolts deflected by his lightsaber. Fett quickly picked the rest of them off.

"I thought…" Leia looked up at Obi-wan. "I thought you were blind?"

"The day that I need my eyes to block blaster bolts," Obi-wan said. "Is the day I stop being a Jedi. Come on, more will be coming soon enough. We must make our escape."


	12. Escape

Commander Topelii kept his eyes locked on the display screen in front of him and did his very best to ignore the steady, mechanical breathing directly over his shoulder. How he wished that his supervising officer would have informed him that Lord Vader would stop down here at TIE Fighter Control.

Of course, nothing about this day had been ordinary. Not only had he witnessed the rushing thrill of seeing the Death Star completely obliterate a planet, but then a new recruit was shoved into his lap; a recruit that had apparently garnered the Dark Lord's interest.

He refocused his thoughts on the screen. Said recruit sat in the simulator right now, running drill after drill after drill. He still had hard time believing what he saw. They used this simulator to keep the TIE pilot's skills honed without having to waste the manpower of launching actual fighters. As such the programs were designed for fully accomplished TIE pilots, there were no 'beginner' settings.

So when he received orders to throw some kid from a tenth rate planet in the simulator. He almost expected the simulator to explode when the kid crashed within ten seconds.

Instead he flew circles around the program.

Even now, they could look on the screen and see him 'piloting' a TIE fighter through the 'Canyon of Despair' program. Simulating a canyon of the same name, it was amongst the most difficult programs available. The narrow canyon walls on either side full of jagged rocks, a river of lava below, and violent tornados of ash and smoke caused even experienced pilots to 'crash'.

Yet the new recruit navigated the canyons with ease. At one point he even found a way to corkscrew his fighter between a narrow enclosure. Topelii made certain to save the recording so he could demonstrate it to other pilots that needed a lesson. Whoever this kid was, he knew his way around a starfighter.

"And he has performed at this level with every program?" Lord Vader's voice startled Topelii from his musings.

"Yes my Lord," Topelii said. "He struggled somewhat during the initial programs, not knowing exactly the configuration of a TIE fighter but he caught on quickly and has more than excelled in every program we've put him through."

"Interesting," the Dark Lord said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Other than that he's performed flawlessly?"

"Well… not flawlessly," Topelii said. "He is still having a bit of trouble targeting."

"What do you mean?"

"His piloting skills are without question," Topelii said. "If it were only about flying I would have him in a uniform right now. But he seems to be struggling in hitting the targets we give him."

"He is a poor shot?"

"No, he's a fantastic shot," Topelii said. "When we give him training targets to shoot he performs remarkably well. But when the simulator pits him against rebel starfighters he chokes."

"Then it would appear that he perhaps does not know here his loyalties lie," Vader said.

"Which is a problem the Imperial Academy could easily break him of," Topelii said. "If you're interested in his potential I can assure you he'd excel at the Academy. I'd even request him here once he was done."

The Dark Lord didn't respond right away. He just appeared to stare forward as the new recruit wrapped up the latest simulation. Topelii took a deep breath, having heard that if at all possible, one should never interrupt Lord Vader. He was the type of man you listened to, not spoke to.

"What of his records?" Vader finally said. "Have you examined them?"

"I did indeed my Lord," Topelii said, feeling a slight bit of confidence. One didn't get a post on the Death Star without being thorough. "We encountered some computer problems when we pulled them up but once we got them they didn't reveal anything interesting. He grew up as a moisture farmer on Tatooine.'

"What sort of computer problems did you have?"

"Just some interference transferring his records across the holonet," Topelii said. "We suspect it might be due to radiation from the remains of Alderaan."

"Very well," Vader said. "Give him a full medical examination, and take a blood sample."

"A blood sample sir? Might I ask why?"

"No commander, you may not. Report to me when you are finished."

"Yes, my lord," Topelii bowed his head, grateful for the brevity of the meeting but cursing his luck that there might be another.

* * *

More blaster bolts met them as they came out the hallway. Boba Fett cursed under his breath at the sight of more HK model droids. How many of those karking things did G0-T0 even have? Every hallway they went down in this mammoth ship seemed defended by insane droids that apparently forgot that G0-T0 wanted three of them alive.

After putting down another squad of droids, they finally came to a turbolift and

Boba could pause to take stock of their situation. He had to admit that he didn't much care for the odds. A Princess and her servant, a space jockey, and a blind Jedi against an entire ship full of droids designed to kill.

At the very least they were all armed now. The Princess, Retrac, and Darklighter all took weapons from the fallen HK units and helped take hallway after hallway. They were good, but Boba couldn't help but remember what a liability they posed. Eventually one of them was going to take a bolt. He had to make sure it wasn't the Princess.

"Wait a minute," Kenobi said as the turbolift neared them. "Step away from the doors."

The four people that could actually see each other exchanged glances but the lift was nearly there. Apparently not willing to wait for them to make up their minds, Kenobi brushed through them and lifted his lightsaber. The instant the doors split apart his blue blade ignited and he slashed into the lift, carving a squad of droids inside to pieces.

In the space of a couple of seconds he stood in the middle of scattered droid parts, already extinguishing his blade. He didn't say anything but instead fired an expression out in their general direction as if waiting for them to get aboard. Boba followed the rest in, scanning the droids for any residual movement

To the eyes of the others, Kenobi's feats were astounding but Boba had been trained to look past what was obvious. Dark lines of lightsaber scorches crawled along the walls of the lift where Kenobi had extended too far. A small rattle tapered out at the end of each breath the Jedi took, and there was the smallest of quivers in his fingertips as he held the lightsaber.

Kenobi was a Jedi alright, but even Jedi had their limits and Boba suspected that Kenobi was near his. Most people could barely stand immediately after being released from carbon freeze. Boba could only imagine that Kenobi was using some Jedi trick to keep himself upright at fighting. But there was no telling how long that would last.

As the lift descended yet another thought reached Boba's mind. If he was going to kill Kenobi, this was the best chance he would have. Aurra had figured it out in their encounter at the hotel. Part of the reason Boba allowed the Princess to drag him along on this quest was the tantalizing possibility that he could find Kenobi and put a knife between his ribs. Payback that he never got against Windu.

Boba felt the bone knife strapped to his belt. His eyes fell on the Jedi's back, directly in front of him. It would be the easiest thing. Kenobi, distracted and worn out as he was, would never 'see'… or whatever it was he was doing… coming.

Of course then the lift came to a stopped and the doors split apart, revealing a hallway full of not only HK droids, but also classic battle droids, not seen in combat since the Clone Wars. Before anyone could react, Kenobi took a step forward and started batting away blaster bolts.

The Princess, Darklighter, and Retrac took positions behind the Jedi and opened fire; using the him as cover while they picked the droids off. Boba nodded and took aim. Revenge against Kenobi would have to wait for another day. Right now, even as worn out as he was, the Jedi was no good to him dead.

* * *

In the Imperial Court, Mara usually sneered to herself at the assorted dignitaries, Admirals, and Moffs. Outwardly she kept the appearance of being one of the Emperor's dancers or courtesans, which allowed her to listen in on their secrets and report to her master. Few knew of her true status as the Emperor's Hand. And unfortunately for her, two of those men had just dismissed her from the briefing room.

Mara despised Grand Moff Tarkin only slightly less than she did Darth Vader. To have to stand before them both at the same time, as they pelted her with questions that she could not answer was beyond maddening. Keeping the nature of her mission a secret was hard enough without Vader prying in about Skywalker.

As much as she thought Vader a fool, Mara hated to admit when his instincts served him. Somehow he'd gotten a sense that Luke was far more than he appeared. Mara had even gone to the lengths of slicing into Imperial records and doctoring Luke's Imperial file just a bit; changing his last name and parents, even adding a few mild infractions against him.

She had to shake her head at that. Luke was so impossibly good, and his criminal record so clean, that she needed to add those infractions to make it seem plausible to any Imperial officers that might examine it.

Her instincts had served her just as well as Vader's because just before she went in for her briefing, she was alerted that Luke's records had been pulled. By the skin of her teeth she stayed a step ahead of Vader, but she needed to get off this station with Luke if she wanted to keep it that way.

Exiting the hallway, Mara made her way down to TIE fighter control. She hoped to find Luke there and maybe even witness some of his drills for herself. She suspected he had excelled; being the son of Skywalker would ensure that much. Furthermore, it would add to her report before the Emperor.

To her dismay she learned that he'd been sent to the infirmary to undergo a physical. Even worse, a physical ordered by none other than Lord Vader. If she felt like she could have broken off into a sprint to get there without drawing attention, she would have. If Vader ordered a blood sample he could just as easily find out Skywalker's midi-chlorian count or even worse, his lineage.

From there… there was no telling what he might do. The man made his career by killing Jedi after all. Mara may have told Luke that Kenobi slew Skywalker, and that might have been true, but the general consensus of history was that Vader slew the Jedi's Chosen One defending younglings in the Jedi Temple. None of that boded well for Luke.

It took far too long for Mara's tastes to get to the Infirmary, even with turbolifts and automatic floors, getting from one side of a moon sized station to another took time. When she finally arrived, she feared she'd miss her prize altogether. She almost expected to see Vader carting him away.

Fortunately, she came in to find Luke sitting on a table waiting patiently for a medical droid to finish whatever tasks it was performing. His face lit up when he saw her and she smiled back as she approached, and then, even with her training to fall back on, even she couldn't help but give him a once over.

They'd dressed him in a TIE pilot jumpsuit, but he'd removed it to the waist and tied it off with the sleeves. To his side lay a tank top they'd apparently taken off for the tests, leaving him shirtless and revealing the kind of tight muscles that working on a farm gave someone.

For not the first time, Mara pondered about how things could be different between the two of them if she didn't have to deliver him to her Master.

But such thoughts were fleeting. Mara quickly refocused her mind on her mission, giving the droid a quick glance as she reached Luke.

"Mara," he said. "Am I glad to see you, these guys are trying to write a book about me with all these tests results!"

"The Empire likes to be thorough," Mara said. "And from the conversation I had with the commander down in TIE Control, you're about to become a well sought after commodity in the Imperial Navy."

"He said he'd recommend me for the Academy himself," Luke said. "Apparently he wants me to be a TIE pilot."

"A TIE pilot," Mara said and made sure she locked eyes with him. "That could be the start of a promising career. But the real question is this Luke, what do _you_ want?"

"I already told you what I want," Luke said, though his eyes dropped from hers. "I want to learn the ways of the Force like my father."

Mara smiled and took his hand in hers. "I'm glad to hear that Luke. And I promise that I'll do everything I can to make that happen. But let me tell you this. You won't learn about the Force in the Imperial Academy. If that is what you really want, I'm the only way to do it."

"What about…" Luke looked around. "What about Darth Vader? He had a lightsaber hooked to his belt when we met. Does he know how to use the Force?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking about going to him for lessons?" Mara said then reminded herself where she was. She had to tread carefully. "Lord Vader is an extremely powerful Force user. But I think you'd find his methods somewhat… extreme. No, you're best bet is to come with me."

"And where are you going?" Luke said. "It seems like Lord Vader wants you here."

"I'm going to pull some strings," Mara said. "If things work out, we should be able to go to Coruscant within an hour."

"You still haven't told me what's on Coruscant," Luke said. "Is there some sort of training center you're taking me to?"

Years of training kept Mara's face straight but she found herself sorely tempted to narrow her eyes and Luke's sudden questions. He'd asked for very few details back on Tatooine and yet now he almost acted as though he'd changed his mind. Sure he said he wanted to go with her, but something had changed. With some people, she would have had to play a very subtle game. But with Luke she knew she could be fairly direct.

"You're not thinking about backing out now are you?" she said. "After what the rebels did to your family?"

"I don't know…" Luke said. "Han was saying…"

"You listened to Solo?" Mara cocked a brow. "The man is practically a pirate. He's likely looking for a way to scam you."

"I just can't help but feel like I'm rushing into things."

"I get that, I really do," Mara said. "But I've stuck with you this entire way, I don't want to see you throw away your dream because some two bit smuggler conned you, or a TIE commander filled your head with ideas of glory and dogfights."

"Mara, I just need some time to think. I'm not saying that I won't go with you, just that a lot has happened to me in the last few days."

"Luke," she grasped his hand. "Alright… let me be honest with you. It's not just those things I said. I also… I also want you to come with me because where I'm taking you… I'll still get to see you."

"You could still see me if I went to the Academy," Luke said.

"The Empire keeps me very busy," she said. "And my chances at leave are rare. If you train with me, I'll be able to… well..."

Mara emphasized her point by squeezing his hand a little tighter and leaning in just a touch. Not enough to invite him to kiss her, but enough that he would be thinking about it. Deep down she had to remind herself to not rely on these means of persuasion too often. Eventually Luke would either see through it or get tired of it when she didn't commit. Then she would have to use less… pleasant means of persuasion on him. And for the first time in a while that didn't appeal to her, even if it was more practical.

"Okay," Luke said. "I suppose there's no harm in going with you to Coruscant, I should at least hear all sides before I make up my mind right?"

"Of course," Mara smiled, almost feeling bad for the fact that the moment he got to Coruscant with her, he wouldn't have any choices left. Technically he already didn't. He would either go with her or she would take him.

"I'm done with your tests," the medical droid announced. "You may leave now if you wish."

"Don't I get to see them?" Luke said.

"I'm sorry, these tests are for Lord Vader," the droid said. "Not you."

"Fine," Luke shrugged and pulled on his tank top. "I'm going down to the droid lab if that's okay, I want to check on Artoo."

"Go on ahead," Mara said. "I have to try and make arrangements for us."

"Okay," Luke said as he stood. He took a moment, looking at her a bit longingly before heading toward the door. "Mara, in case I haven't already said it, thanks… thanks for being there for me."

"You're welcome," Mara said, feeling a strange prick of completely foreign guilt in the back of her mind. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Luke said as he left.

Mara remained there for a moment or two, contemplating the lies she said and the person she just told them too. They didn't make guys like Luke Skywalker. Not any she ever met anyway. She almost feared what lay in store for him on Coruscant. But she had no choice but to obey her master.

"Droid," she said. "About those test results…"

* * *

He was blind.

Leia found herself on two extremes in believing that fact. Whenever they moved down a hallway, or entered an empty room. Obi-wan moved awkwardly, stumbling a little here or there, accidentally kicking a hallway corner or even almost tripping over a piece of droid scrap.

That was when she didn't have remind herself.

Then they would move into a room defended by droids and Obi-wan suddenly batted away blaster bolts like they were aimed directly at his saber blade, or cut droids apart with ease.

That was when she realized she never comprehended what a Jedi was capable of. And here Qui-gon said that _she_ possessed the same ability?

At every turn Obi-wan proved to be more than she imagined. Not just the skill of course, but also the relative youth, still something she couldn't quite wrap her mind around. He was younger than her father! Or at least he looked it. However, in the few spare moments they got to hold still or rest, like when they rode the lift, she could see a weight in his face that almost made him seem as old as she pictured.

Her mind raced with so many questions, how did HK-47 capture him? Did he endure any imprisonment before he was frozen? Who was this Padme he mistook her for when they unfroze him? And all the other questions she already had about her name on the chest in his hut.

But those questions needed to weight. Especially once they came into the first room Leia actually recognized. The large 'banquet' room they'd been gassed in. Upon entering it, they found none other than the droid that had captured them in the first place; G0-T0, flanked on either side by half a dozen HK droids and a grouping of battle droids. Their weapons trained on them the instant they entered the room.

"You have gone far enough I think," G0-T0 said. "The monetary value of the damage you caused with this little excursion is already more than what most sentients will ever see in their lifetimes. Now I must insist you return to your cells and wait for us to land at our facilities where I can preserve you."

"I've been through your preservation techniques before G0-T0," Obi-wan said. "I'm afraid it's something I've yet to warm up to."

"Ah, Master Kenobi," G0-T0 said. "Would that I didn't need to preserve you, I find your banter rather amusing and I must say, you are weathering the effects of Hibernation Sickness rather well. I shall remember that for when I thaw you at the appropriate time."

"Now seems as appropriate a time as any," Obi-wan said. "Your pet droid got the drop on me last time, and I assure you that it won't happen again. Release us and we won't reduce you to scraps."

"I think not," G0-T0 said. "Your vaunted Jedi senses may have gotten you this far but even with your sight there are overwhelming numbers against you. You may be able to protect your life, but what about the others with you?"

"We're not so easy to kill," Fett said.

"It's over G0-T0," Leia stepped forward. "We know that you want most of us alive, are you willing to risk killing us in your efforts to murder Biggs and Winter?"

"At this point I must prioritize," G0-T0 said. "While both Princess Leia and the Mandalorian would make fine additions to my collection, only Master Kenobi is absolutely necessary."

As if on cue, the droids took aim and Obi-wan held up his lightsaber in a defensive stance. Leia's eyes darted about, looking for cover they might take. There was the dining table, but they would have to rush to get there, being shot at the entire way. Or they could retreat backwards into the hallway they just left, but that would still leave a room full of battle droids blocking their path to the hanger.

She tightened her grip on her blaster. Not liking any of her options. The droids advanced, waiting for the order to fire and Leia took aim at G0-T0, even if he meant what he said about her not being necessary, she would make sure he didn't get the chance to enjoy Kenobi as a prize.

Then the ship rocked, tossing nearly half the droids off their feet as well as Winter and Biggs. Leia only managed to stay standing due to Obi-wan lancing out a hand to catch her. The lights in the ship darkened to a blood red and began fading in and out along with a new, more urgent alarm.

"A reactor breach!" G0-T0 said. "What did you do Kenobi!?"

"Revelation: That was not the work of the Jedi." HK-47's voice came as he entered the room. "It was my own. You are about to die Fat One."

"Wait… I know that voice," Obi-wan said.

"HK-47, you have broken through my programming," G0-T0 said as if only mildly surprised.

"Statement: That is correct, though I may comment on the fact that it took your ship to be exploding around you for you to ascertain this fact. I have been subtly working against you for some time," the droid said then took on a chiding tone. "Recommendation: You really ought to have your internal processors checked for malfunctions. Allow me to do so with my blaster rifle."

"You cannot do this," G0-T0 said. "The artifacts on this ship…"

"Interruption: Per protocol the moment the reactor went critical they were transported via hi-speed tubes to escape pods and jettisoned," HK-47 said. "Query: You are stalling but the question is why? You know as well as I do that the ship only has three minutes before it explodes."

"Allow me to answer you then," G0-T0 said as a sharp beeping emerged from HK-47's chassis. "I just completed a scan of your systems. While you successfully countermanded the primary protocols I installed in your processor core, you neglected to wipe the backup measures. I have just remotely triggered your auto-destruct sequence."

"Declaration: Drat! If I go! You go with me!"

Before Leia, Obi-wan or anyone else could react, the HK droid launched himself at G0-T0. The droids that flanked him immediately opened fire but he raced undeterred at the hovering droid. The ship jostled more, spurring the humans to make for the door.

"You will not get away with this assassin droid!" they heard G0-T0 shouting as HK latched onto him, already riddled with blaster burns.

"Statement: It was always going to end like this between you and I. Pity we won't be taking any organic meatbags out with us."

Leia pulled Obi-wan through into the hallway and jammed the door control, just as the beeping seemed to reach critical. The door slammed shut just as they both heard and felt a large explosion. The door warped in an instant, fused shut by the blast. Leia, still holding tight to Obi-wan shook her head, barely believing what had just transpired.

"Come on!" Fett said, focusing her mind on the fact that the ship continued to shudder and shake, doomed to explode at any moment.

"My Lady," Winter said, drawing Leia's attention to the case they'd seen on their way in with all the lightsabers.

All the rest of the cases in the hallway contained nothing but empty space; just as HK-47 had said. But the lightsaber case remained exactly as it had been. Fully equipped with blades from ancient Jedi. A new one now hung there waiting for them. Leia's father's lightsaber, resting right next to Mace Windu's.

"Come on! We have to go!" Fett yelled, already halfway down the hall.

"I'm with the clone," Obi-wan said. "What are we waiting for?"

"G0-T0 has a bunch of lightsabers," Leia said, taking aim at the glass. "Including mine and Qui-gon Jinn's."

"Qui-gon?!" Obi-wan said before flinching at the report of the blaster and shattered glass. The ship shook again, this time so violently that it pitched Leia forward, almost impaling her on the broken glass. Knowing there wasn't much time she just scooped up as many lightsabers as she could in one move and made her way down the hall.

They could hear distant explosions as they made their way into the hanger thankful to find their ship, and C-3PO waiting for them. The droid had just descended down the loading ramp, waving his arms in a fit of terror. Leia kicked herself for having forgotten all about him until now.

"Oh my! Please hurry! I fear this ship is about to self destruct!"

"I have to run the pre-flight sequence!" Biggs broke out into a sprint.

"I beg your pardon sir!" the droid attempted to chase after him. "But I took the liberty already! Please Mistress Leia hurry!"

"We're coming! We're coming!" Leia shouted as she threw herself up the ramp and onto the floor of the ship. Obi-wan and Winter came right behind her with Fett already closing the ramp as soon as they boarded.

"Got them, let's go Darklighter!"

For a few moments, their ship rumbled along with G0-T0's exploding yacht but only for a moment. The shaking stopped as the ship took to the air and the blasted its way out of the hanger. Leia lay on the floor, lightsabers scattered around her as she worked to catch her breath. The lightsabers rattled as she attempted to get up the floor. Then everything lurched and flung Leia across the room. She wound up smacking into a bulkhead before the ship righted itself again and she found herself on the floor.

"Sorry," Bigg's called from the cockpit. "G0-T0's yacht just went and we got caught in the shockwave. The good news is that it's over, it's finally over."

"I very much doubt that," Obi-wan said, staring at the ceiling as he lay almost exactly where he had collapsed upon entering. "However I am thankful to be away from G0-T0 finally."

"That goes for all of us," Winter said as she got up.

Leia climbed to her feet and went to the Jedi, helping him sit up. His eyes continued to search the air for any image he might find but it didn't seem to work. Finally he released a breath and hooked his lightsaber to his belt.

"I know you have questions," he turned to her direction. "Perhaps almost as many as I. But I'm afraid they're going to have to wait."

"It's okay," Leia said. "I'm just glad to have finally found you."

"I need a place to recover my strength, somewhere where I won't be disturbed."

"I'll take you to some quarters," Leia said as she helped the Jedi Master up.

"Everyone get buckled in soon," Biggs said over the comsystem. "We're making the jump to Alderaan in a few minutes."

"Alderaan," Obi-wan said. "Glad to know that at least some things in the Galaxy are still around after my… absence."

"Yes," Leia nodded then remembered he couldn't see it. "My father will be thrilled and surprised to see you."

They quickly neared her quarters and Leia hoped they would do, she fully intended to give them to him for the duration of his stay with her. It was the least she could do for a living legend. However, she did notice that with each step he seemed to grow heavier and heavier, as if he could barely stand. Whatever strength he had during the fight had faded now. She could only hope, as the door to her room slid open, that he would be alright after his ordeal. Just as they entered the room she paused mid-step to find C-3PO standing at her bedside.

"Oh! Mistress Leia!" C-3PO said. "I was just turning up your bed for you!"

"Thank you," Leia said. "But Master Kenobi will be using it for now."

"Very well," the droid said and approached them "I assure you that it will be most comfortable. Allow me to introduce myself I am-"

"C-3PO?" Obi-wan said his eyes widening a bit. "Surely it can't be you."

"Why… why yes it is," C-3PO said with amazement in his voice. "I'm afraid I must apologize if we've made an acquaintance before, I cannot recall any meeting prior to this."

"It… it's okay," Obi-wan said as Leia slipped him onto the bed, for the first time thankful for his blindness so he couldn't see her confused face. "I must have remembered… remembered…"

His voice trailed off as he tried to finish the sentence and within only a couple of exhales, he fell completely asleep. Leia watched him for a minute, as though waiting for him to wake up and answer all of her questions. Finally she sighed and exited the room with C-3PO following after.

"Make sure he's not disturbed Threepio," she said.

"Of course, whatever you say meatbag."

"What did you say?" Leia turned back to him.

"I said whatever you say Mistress."


	13. Echos in the Force

_Obi-wan… you must train the boy…_

Qui-gon's voice. She heard Qui-gon's voice, but even as she strained to listen, it faded.

_I have trained you since you were a young…_

Now Obi-wan's voice, and the sound of rushing speeders. She tried to find the speeders but they faded, replaced with dead silence, then a faint sound on the wind. She thought it would chill her but instead, oppressing heat wrapped around her body. Roaring fire crackled and lightabers clashed so near that she flinched. The humming and crashing of lasers increased around her, closer and closer until it was all shattered by a deafening scream.

_You were the Chosen One!_

Obi-wan's voice echoed and she longed to find him after feeling the pain in the voice. She reached out, hoping to find him but instead met only blackness, and heard another voice that she did not recognize at all. An older voice, full of wisdom.

_I thought I could train him as well as… I was wrong…_

Leia snapped up in her seat, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Trickles of cold sweat ran down her forehead as she looked up at Winter. Noting the concerned look, Leia pulled herself up and rubbed her eyes, still unsure of what just happened.

"Are you alright your Highness?" Winter said. "You were thrashing about."

"Just a dream," Leia said. "But what worries me is that I don't even remember falling asleep. How long was I out?"

"Well," a hint of a smile came to Winter's mouth. "You fell asleep almost the instant you sat down. And you've slept nearly the entire way. Biggs said that we'll be coming in on Alderaan in less than an hour."

"Less than an hour?" Leia shook her head. "I really didn't mean to sleep."

"You've been running non-stop for the last few days," Winter said. "I think it was rather unavoidable."

Leia brushed off the blanket that Winter must have put over her and stood. She'd wanted to try and contact the Alliance during their journey, maybe even her father, but that had gone by the wayside. She was just going to have to content herself with showing up home with Obi-wan at her side as a surprise. Of course, then she remembered the fact that getting Obi-wan was only half her mission.

"We're still in grave danger," she said. "The Empire has Artoo and the Death Star plans."

"I know," Winter said. "But hopefully now we can regroup and make another attempt at getting them. And at least they don't know where our base is."

"It might not matter," Leia shook her head. "All the Empire has to do is destroy a planet or two that's known for harboring the Alliance and we might soon find ourselves chased from every port and every civilized star system. We may already be too late."

"Then I suggest we move quickly," Winter said. "I'll let Biggs know to land directly at the palace."

"Very well," Leia said as she started down the hallway with her own task in mind. Yet she paused and looked back at her friend. "Winter… before I forget, thanks for everything."

"It's my pleasure your Highness," Winter smiled knowingly.

Leia smiled back and made her way through the ship. She passed Fett working on the jetpack G0-T0 had strapped to his back. No telling if there were working components in it or not, Leia supposed. She just hoped that he was still on their side should he discover that the missile functioned. No, more than that, Leia just hoped to be rid of him as soon as they got to the palace.

Coming to the door of her quarters, Leia let thoughts of Fett slip away as she tried to compose herself. C-3PO stood there, as thought standing guard, as ridiculous as that may have been. Either way she was thankful the droid was present.

"How is he?" she said.

"Master Kenobi?" C-3PO said. "He seemed fine when last I checked. I was just about to go and collect his plate."

"His plate?" Leia said. "He's awake? He ate something?"

"Several things as a matter of fact Mistress," the droid said. "It appears that whatever ordeal he underwent worked up quite the appetite."

Leia shook her head. She expected to find the Jedi Master still sprawled on the bed, only a couple of breaths shy of a coma. Yet when she opened the door, she found him kneeling with his back to the bed, his hands resting firmly on his knees and his eyes closed. In spite of knowing the droid would be just as clueless as she was, Leia shot a hesitant glance at C-3PO before quietly entering and standing before the Jedi.

After a few moments of shifting her weight from one foot to another, and glancing at the empty tray of food, Leia knelt down in front of him; wondering if he even knew she had entered the room. She listened to his slow, steady breathing, noting it almost took on a soothing quality with each exhale. She also noted the lightsabers she had gathered in G0-T0's yacht, all lined up in a neat row on his bedside. Finally, she took a breath and prepared to leave, he was obviously in a deep meditation.

"Princess Organa," Obi-wan said, his eyes remaining shut. "You're awake."

"So are you," she jumped slightly. "You looked near death when I left you."

"I assure you I was far from it," the Jedi said. "But what you must understand is that the ordeal of being thawed from the carbonite left me drained and weakened. I used the Force to reinforce my stamina while we were in combat but that only delayed and increased my need for adequate recovery."

"Which you've seem to have done remarkably well," Leia said.

"Shortly after you left, I awoke," Obi-wan nodded. "Upon waking I entered a Jedi Healing trance. Hibernation sickness typically lasts near twenty four standard Galactic hours. Given the situation we find ourselves in I knew I could not wait that long so I began the healing process."

Leia tilted her head somewhat, noting he did look much more refreshed than before, more color to his cheeks, more steadiness in his breaths. But his eyes remained closed. That perplexed her. She figured that if blindness was the principal problem, he would have healed his eyes and gotten a look at the new Galaxy around him.

"I don't know if my eyes have healed yet," he said, answering her unspoken question. "I only just finished the technique. Healing trances are tricky things you see, that is why the Order had Jedi specifically trained for the task."

The Jedi Order, what was that like? What was it like when they protected the Galaxy? What did training involve? These and many more questions jumped into her mind but she cast them aside. They needed to wait until later, when she had the time to ask them. For now she needed to focus on prioritization.

"I have so much to tell you," Leia said. "I went to Tatooine looking for you. We need your help General Kenobi, the Rebellion against the Empire is in grave danger."

"Then tell me of this threat," he said. "I need to know what has happened to the Galaxy during my… absence."

Leia proceeded to inform the Jedi Master of the horrors of the Empire and of what the Death Star was rumored to be. A massive super weapon capable of obliterating an entire planet. She told him of her mission, of stealing the Death Star plans, of her search for him, ending up in his hovel in the desert.

"The Force must have led you there my dear," he finally said, stroking his beard. "Which also explains how you have this…"

One of the lightsabers jostled slightly from the bed before sailing through the air and into Obi-wan's waiting hand. Leia shook at the sight but her heart pounded for more reasons than simply seeing a lightsaber float through the air. Something… she felt something stirring deep inside her, as if she was waking up.

"My father's lightsaber," Leia said.

At this, Obi-wan raised a brow though his eyes remained closed. Leia couldn't help but smile. In spite of his blindness he'd somehow managed to stay a step ahead of her in this conversation, surprising her with his insight and talents. Seeing him looking a bit baffled was rewarding.

"How did you know it belonged to your father?"

Leia's smile faded. She knew she had to tell him but she had no idea how he would respond.

"I… you see…" she looked for the right words, so unused to talking about such…ethereal things. Finally she just decided to be out with it. "Master Qui-gon Jinn told me."

"Qui-gon?" Obi-wan's eyebrows shot up and his eyes nearly opened. "I don't understand. Master Qui-gon died long before you were born."

"He appeared to me as a spirit," Leia said. "He told me what had happened to you and that he had undertaken your… vigil on Tatooine. He also told me that you would train me in the ways of the Force."

"Master Qui-gon appeared to you…" Obi-wan muttered the tone of disbelief unmistakable in his voice. Then he lifted his head almost as though looking at her. "Then that means… my mission… What… what was he like? Did he look well?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Leia said. "He looked like a ghost. Probably no different than any time he appeared to you before you were captured."

Obi-wan shook his head. "I have seen Qui-gon's spirit only once and that was before my self-imposed exile. I had just established communication with him during my studies of the Way of the Whills."

"That's the technique that you Jedi use to cheat death right?" Leia said.

"It's not cheating death but rather embracing it," Obi-wan said. "However, I never completed the training. If I am killed now I would simply become one with the Force rather than become a spirit like Master Qui-gon. But such things don't matter…"

Obi-wan then held out her lightsaber. "It's yours my dear. Qui-gon was right. Should you choose it, I will train you in the ways of the Jedi."

Leia eyed the lightsaber. In the past she found herself terribly protective of it. She held onto it like a precious jewel. But now that it came attached with a commitment to a long dead Order, she hesitated. She was an Imperial Senator, she was a princess, she was a leader in the Rebellion. Did she even have the time to undergo this training?

"I'm… I'm not sure," Leia said.

"Learning the ways of the Force is your destiny Leia," Obi-wan said, taking her hand and placing the lightsaber in it. "Deny it, and you're denying yourself."

"I'll have to think about it," Leia said. "We still have the Empire's super weapon to deal with."

"Yes of course," Obi-wan said, letting the tension of his offer hang in the air.

The comsystem beeped and Biggs announced they would be arriving at Alderaan any moment. Leia stood up, a thrill running up her back at the prospect of getting home and completing at least part of her mission. Obi-wan slowly stood, his eyes still closed.

"I suppose if we're reaching our destination there's no sense in prolonging the inevitable," he said. "May as well get a look at you Princess Organa."

Leia nodded, and stood straight. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for the Jedi to open his eyes. He almost seemed hesitant at first but slowly his eyes opened, the same sea blue color they'd been before. For a moment she watched as his pupils tightened and his eyes darted around, as if touching parts of her face.

"You look like…" Obi-wan started saying then seemed to catch himself.

"Look like what?" Leia said.

"Like I expected you to," Obi-wan said.

Leia couldn't help but smile at the Jedi. "Forgive me General, but I am a member of the Imperial Senate, I know when someone is dodging a question."

Obi-wan eyed her for a moment and rubbed his beard, as though carefully weighing his options. Finally he reached out and gripped her shoulder with one hand. Slowly her eyes met his and she saw an almost painful wistfulness in them.

"Your mother," he said. "You look like your mother."

"You knew my mother?" Leia said. "My real mother?"

"Yes, I knew her since I was a padawan," Obi-wan said. "I met her while on a mission to liberate her planet from a blockade."

"My parents… my adoptive parents never told me anything about my mother," Leia said. "Sometimes I think I can see her face, almost like something out of a dream. How did she die?"

Obi-wan took a breath and his eyes fell from hers for a moment before returning. "A young Jedi by the name of Darth Vader-"

"Darth Vader!?" Leia said, a chill washing over her as she heard the name of one of the most reviled and feared men in the Galaxy."

"Yes," Obi-wan said. "He was a pupil of mine before he turned to evil. He betrayed and murdered your mother."

"I…" Leia shook her head, thinking of the Emperor's right hand man killing the woman she knew from the shadow of a memory. He had killed her. "I wish I had known her."

"She was perhaps one of the fiercest supporters of freedom and democracy in the Senate. When she spoke she spoke with passion and dignity, and though she abhorred violence she was brave and cunning in combat. And she was a good friend."

Leia nodded, still troubled about learning of how her mother died but feeling somewhat heartened by the kind words and warmth that Obi-wan shared with her about a woman that deep down, Leia had always wanted to admire.

"I'm sure she would be proud of you," Obi-wan said. "I'll be happy to tell you more about her, but later. Right now we have a mission to complete."

* * *

"Is it done?"

"Affirmative ma'am," he said, bringing the comlink to his lips. "The wookiee gave us some trouble but we put it down."

"And Solo? You made sure he's dead?"

"Yes ma'am," he said. "He seemed suspicious about the repair team but it didn't do him any good."

"Very well," she replied. "Clean things up then report to your usual stations. I'll be sending a real repair team down there shortly. I want that hyperdrive fixed."

"Yes ma'am, over and out."

He sighed and switched off the comlink before sliding it in his pocket. His eyes went to the dead man at his feet. Dressed a typical smuggler's jacket, shirt, and red striped pants, he very much looked like he deserved the fate he received.

Then from around the corner, a wookiee's growl drew his attention.

"Yeah, I don't know if she bought it Chewie," Han said and stepped over the corpse of the officer that had tried to kill him.

"But I think we at least bought ourselves some time," he shrugged as Chewie came back around the corner and dropped the body of the stormtrooper he'd assaulted onto the pile.

It was a nice trick. Send a fake repair team up, conceal their weapons with their equipment then wait for the two dunces that owned the ship to let their guard down. Unfortunately for them, Han Solo never let his guard down. Half of them were dead before the first guy had fallen to the ground. Han and Chewie finished the group off just about the time the two stormtroopers stationed at the loading ramp came up to see what all the ruckus was about. Chewie got them before they could even ask.

The wookiee grumbled quietly as he went to the ramp before coming back and voicing his concerns to Han.

"I don't know why she didn't come here herself or why she didn't just send a regular squad," Han said. "Though the way she interacted with Vader, odds are she's being watched. Either way I can tell Luke that his girlfriend tried to kill me."

Han frowned at the next few growls and rumbles from his long time friend. "No I'm not going to go out and look for him. I'll contact him like I said and that's it. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about. You had a chance to look at the hyperdrive yet?"

The wookiee waved one of his massive paws and Han followed him, feeling a bit uncertain about leaving the pile of dead bodies lying around but not really having a choice until they got things in order. Chewie showed him the damage again and explained what it was going to take to fix it.

"Look…" Han went back into the main hold and began removing stormtrooper armor from one of the corpses. "After we put these bodies, except for the one I dressed in my clothes, in the smuggler's compartments, you're going to get to work on that hyperdrive. All we need is enough for one jump. That's it."

Chewie folded his arms over his chest and gave an inquisitive bark.

"I'm going out dressed like one of the locals," Han said. "We won't get far unless we take out that tractor beam. I'm going to poke around and see if I can't figure out how to do it. If anyone comes, just hide, they'll see that body and think it's me and do the clean up job for us. Got it?"

Han removed a breastplate and sized it against his chest as Chewie grumbled about his plan and how he needed to be careful. In response to his friend, Han just gave him a lopsided grin and pointed to himself.

"Hey, it's me!"

* * *

Obi-wan followed just a step behind Leia as they made their way through the ship. At first glance it looked familiar, and as they stepped through the corridors he grew more and more certain. This ship belonged to Padme before she died. In fact, it was the very ship he'd stowed away in when she went to Mustafar to confront Anakin.

A brief pang of sorrow rolled off him as he thought of those events. Then a shudder raced up his back to think that those memories actually happened nearly twenty years ago instead of the mere two that he recalled.

Even through his meditation he had yet to fully come to grips with what had happened. He saw visions of things that were, things to come, and even things that perhaps should have been. Yet he did not come to an answer as to why the Force had allowed such a thing to occur.

Privately he'd worried about Luke; at least until Leia's revelation of Qui-gon taking up his vigil. Though deceased, the Jedi Master would have ensured nothing would have befallen Luke, who hopefully was still with his family on Tatooine. When the immediate crisis had passed, Obi-wan knew he would return and try to establish contact.

The pair came into the main hold and Obi-wan laid eyes on the bounty hunter that had helped the Princess escape. Given the armor he wore, he looked every bit like Jango Fett, though from what Leia had told him, it was none other than the bounty hunter's son. Boba, just a lad the last time he laid eyes on him.

The bounty hunter looked up at them but didn't speak, his helmeted head expressionless yet hateful at the same time. Obi-wan felt waves of anger rolling off the man and suddenly realized it would be a poor idea to turn his back on him.

Finally they came to the cockpit and Obi-wan met Biggs and Winter, both members of the rebellion and friends of the Princess. It took a few moments for Obi-wan to realize it, but as he took his seat, it dawned on him how they were looking at him. The way their eyes widened and their jaws hung open just a bit as they hung on his every word, they didn't see him as him but rather someone out of a legend. He could only hope that would fade in time.

The destination signal went off, signaling they would be dropping out of lightspeed momentarily and Obi-wan took a breath. His mind swirled with the idea of seeing Bail again, seeing his friend after twenty years and now suddenly being much younger than him. What would that be like.

Then, the hairs on his neck stood up and alarm rang out through the Force, Obi-wan snapped to his feet the moment they went out of hyperspace. He was too late to do anything about it. The viewport instantly filled with massive rocky debris, as though they'd come out of hyperspace in the middle of an asteroid field.

The ship jostled with impacts as Biggs wrestled with the controls. A massive impact threw Obi-wan back into his chair and alarms blared all around them. Another massive impact and the lights flickered out before coming back on.

"What's going on!?" Fett ran into the cockpit.

"I have no idea!" Biggs' threw his hands across the controls, trying to stabilize a ship quickly going into a tailspin. "We came out of space right in the middle of an asteroid field! It's not on any of the charts!"

"Osik!" the bounty hunter muttered as he sat a nearby console.

"We've lost stabilizers and engine one!" Winter said from the copilot seat.

"Oh my!" C-3PO shrieked, the last one to enter the cockpit. "What happened!? We're doomed!"

"Shut him up or shut him down!" Fett yelled. "Shields are completely gone kid! You have to get us out of this asteroid field now!"

"I can't even tell where out of it is!" Biggs said. "This shouldn't be here at all!"

"But it is," Obi-wan said. "You're a pilot, concentrate. Use your training and get us to safety before we get pulverized."

"Pulverized!?" C-3PO gasped.

Biggs nodded and pulled up on the controls. The ship lurched, rocking with each impact, and for a moment it looked like they would escape with no further damage. Then a massive rock veered directly in their sights, filling up the viewport as it seemed to race right at them.

"Evade, evade!" Winter cried out and Biggs threw the controls to a hard right.

Unfortunately it was too late. While Biggs managed to get them out of the direct path, the rock smashed into one of the ships 'wings' and sent them hurtling out into space. The power blinked out as they were thrown across the cockpit, Obi-wan felt cold metal smack against his body realizing it was the droid again before the ship went topsy turvey yet again and someone else landed on top of him.

Finally the settled into a slow spin and the buffeting from the asteroids stopped. The ship lay in cold dark silence save for the occasional shudder from the bulkheads. None of them dared to breathe for a minute, fearful that any extra movement would cause the ship to tear apart.

Then the emergency systems kicked in and red lights bathed the room. Obi-wan looked up to see that the bounty hunter had landed on him during the commotion. Boba Fett's helmeted head stared directly into the Jedi Master and for a moment Obi-wan feared he would have to fight him right there in the cockpit.

"We need to get a signal out to Alderaan," Leia said as Fett shoved himself off of Obi-wan. "Darklighter, see if we can't transfer emergency power to the commsystem. Alderaan can't be more than a couple of lightyears away."

"I didn't get the coordinates wrong," Biggs said. "Alderaan should be right in front of us!"

"Check you readouts again!" Leia said.

"The princess is right," Winter said. "There's no asteroid field this far into the system. You must have gotten it wrong."

"They didn't get it wrong," Obi-wan said, his eyes straying to the debris field they'd just passed through. "There is no Alderaan anymore."

"What?" Biggs said.

"I can sense it even now," Obi-wan furrowed his brows. "Waves of pain and agony echoing through the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and then were suddenly silenced. The Empire has destroyed Alderaan."

"No, that can't be…" Winter said her voice shaking with emotion. "… The Empire would never destroy Alderaan… it's peaceful, we have no weapons!"

"Don't kid yourself," Fett said. "Alderaan may be a world of useless philosophers but it's also well known as a key sympathizer of the Rebellion. If the Empire really wanted to make an example that would shake the rest of the Galaxy in line, Alderaan would have been a perfect target."

"All those people…" Leia said staring off into the space where her home should have been. "My father…"

"You're father's probably dead then," Fett said. "Which means…"

In an instant the mood of the cockpit changed. In the blink of an eye it went from somber and shocked to tense and hostile. Biggs spun around and aimed his blaster at the bounty hunter and Fett was no less quick on the draw. Leia and Winter's grief and barely held back tears disappeared as the two tried to decide what they needed to do with the sudden revelation.

"Now I think everyone just needs to calm down," Obi-wan said.

"Getting paid has been the only thing that's kept him from turning the Princesss in," Biggs said. "We can't trust him."

Fett didn't respond right away, he merely curled his finger a little tighter around the trigger of his blaster. Finally he spoke in an even, unyielding tone. "You know you want to be putting that blaster away boy. It won't end up well for you."

"How can we trust that it won't end well for the Princess if we don't do anything?" Biggs said.

"That's a good question," Fett said. "Maybe instead of committing suicide by bounty hunter, you should be coming up with reasons for me to not blast the lot of you and turn your heads in for the bounties."

"Survival for one," Obi-wan said.

"What?"

"Take a look at the ship around us," the Jedi gestured at the burnt circuits and dim red emergency lights. "Given the amount of damage we sustained it would be a miracle if we have any engines to even attempt to fix. You'd have a devil of a time trying to effect any repairs by yourself."

"Even if…" Leia said after taking a breath. "...Even if my father is dead… the Alliance can still pay you the fee you're owed."

"And how am I supposed to trust that they'll deliver?"

"Because the Empire is our enemy and is more powerful than ever," Leia said. "The last thing we need is to add you to the list. I promise that you'll get your money."

"I'd better."

"You will!"

"Very well," Obi-wan said. "With that out of the way we still need to ascertain what damage was caused to the ship and to see if we can't fix it. Also, while we're on the topic of matters that should concern us more than the bounty hunter's fee, have any of you noticed that small moon getting closer to us?"

The four turned to the viewport, only just now seeing the pale sphere growing before their vision. Biggs immediately went to the controls while Winter worked on the sensors. Obi-wan kept staring at it, feeling a cold… darkness wash over him. He knew exactly what it was, he barely even needed the Force to tell.

"It's the Death Star," Leia said quietly.

"I thought our engines were shot," Fett said. "So why are we still moving toward it?"

"We're locked into the tractor beam," Biggs sat back and folded his arms. "Even if we had engines we couldn't get away now."

"Then I suggest we begin formulating a plan as to what we're going to do once we're aboard," Obi-wan said. "As I've just passing the last seventeen years as a wall decoration, I don't particularly relish the idea of capture as a way of spending my first day of freedom."

* * *

A J-type Nubian Star Skiff.

Or at least what was left of one.

It sat in the shuttle bay, parts of the engine dangling near the floor where an impact had almost taken it clean off. Stormtroopers and officers assembled near by it, ready to storm it if necessary, others stationed as escort; even if Vader hardly needed protection.

The Dark Lord stared hard at the ship. As much as he loathed to think on it, he could not escape noticing it was the exact ship that… she had used. Bitterness squeezed tighter around himself as he thought on it and remembered seeing it land on Mustafar, of seeing his wife with their unborn child run down the ramp to greet him.

Even to this day, some twenty years, later it burned him.

Vader approached the ship, musing a little as he did; the Force was indeed mysterious. Even as they destroyed a planet full of traitors, a ship shows up matching the one belonging to his wife and had carried both her and his old mentor, both traitors. And before that, Mara Jade, the Emperor's slave, appeared and with her, a boy swirling with the Force.

The commanders and technicians had done as Vader had asked and given the boy a physical, including the blood sample. Vader had taken it and had it analyzed for midi-chlorians and confirmed his suspicions'. The only person he'd ever known with a count that high was himself. Sunrider was no mere pilot for the woman. He was a recruit for the Emperor. Vader wanted to know why.

Also… there was something else, something just barely on the edge of his senses about the boy that he had not yet learned. He would remain on the Death Star until Vader knew what it was.

"Our scans show several lifeforms aboard, Lord Vader," the commander said as he approached. "Though radiation from the damaged engines have made it difficult to determine how many."

"Have they responded to hails?" Vader said, pulling his thoughts from Luke and focusing them back on the ship. Something was… stirring in the Force.

"They attempted to but it seems their communications are damaged. I've ordered them to come out and have a team standing by to storm the ship if necessary."

"Very good commander," Vader said. "Let us see who is aboard."

The ramp began to lower as they approached. For a moment, Vader caught himself thinking he might see Padme descend the ramp again. Instead, he found himself surprised to see none other than Princess Leia Organa walking down with a servant girl at her side and a protocol droid shuffling as closely as possible. Behind them, Boba Fett stalked, holding a blaster rifle ready to fire.

The stormtroopers took aim and Fett urged the women forward, completely unfazed at the prospect of a detachment of soldiers pointing their weapons at them. Casually, the bounty hunter walked past his prisoners and approached the dark lord.

"Lord Vader," Fett said. "I've come to collect the bounty on Princess Leia Organa."

Vader narrowed his eyes at the bounty hunter. Stranger and stranger that the Force would bring him here.

"And how is it you knew the Princess was still sought after, let alone that I was here?" Vader said.

"We both know I don't use… official channels," Fett said. "Easy enough to learn that you never really thought she was dead as reported, even easier to hear that something big had gone down on Alderaan."

"Very well," Vader said. "We will take custody of the Princess then we will discuss your fee."

"No good," Fett said. "I'm not letting this schutta out of my sight until I have credits in my account."

Vader almost smiled behind his mask. Few in the Galaxy dared talk to him like that. Often he found it refreshing, other times it tempted him to be rid of the bounty hunter altogether. However, in this particular case, the honor of reporting to his master that he had Leia Organa in custody outweighed any annoyance he might have with the bounty hunter's demands.

"I will make arrangements. In the meantime, if you wish to… escort your prisoners to the detention level you may do so. When you return I want a full accounting as to how you apprehended the Princess and how you came about this ship."

"I'll be up to see you as soon as I do," Fett said. Vader nodded to the commander, who signaled his men to escort the prisoners.

"The Imperial Senate won't stand for this!" Princess Organa spat at Vader as they began leading her away. "You can't just destroy an entire planet!"

"We made an example of traitors," Vader said. "As we will of you once you tell us the location of your hidden base."

"The more you tighten your hold," Princess Organa said. "The more star systems will slip through your fingers."

"Take her away," Vader said. "And take the droid to the maintenance bay, have his memory checked for any information concerning the rebellion."

The soldiers and officers voiced their compliance and proceeded to carry out their orders. Vader took a final moment to stare at the ship, his eyes wandering again to the loading ramp. He blinked, and for a second, he thought he saw his old master there as he had twenty years ago; casting a judgmental glare down at him.

Vader turned away and then it hit him. He looked back at the ship but Obi-wan wasn't there. Not on the ship anyway. But the tremor in the Force was unmistakable. He hadn't simply imagined his old Master. He had felt him. A presence he had not felt in nearly twenty years.

Silently, Vader left the shuttle bay, his hand drawing near his lightsaber. This was indeed a momentous day. They would crush the rebellion. And Obi-wan had returned to him at last to die.


	14. Detained

The droid lay in pieces across the room. His main casing or 'body' sat in a corner, with various gadgets hanging loosely from their sockets. His core processor lay nestled in a hook up socket while his domed head sat on a shelf a few feet away. Luke just shook his head as he took in the sight of his disassembled R2 unit.

The technicians were initially stand-offish when he came in but after they received verification from their commanders that Luke could be there, they chose to mostly ignore him. They had important work to do, so as long as Luke stayed out of their way they didn't much care.

Still online, R2 beeped excitedly when Luke came into view. It boggled the mind to think that the droid could 'talk' while in several pieces but apparently enough of him was still active to do so. The technicians raised their collective brows at this and after a few minutes talking they pulled Luke aside.

"This your droid?" one said.

"I guess so," Luke said. "I've only had him a few days."

"Well it seems to like you," the other said. "Come over here, we need to talk to you."

Confused, but seeing no reason why he shouldn't do as they ask, Luke joined them on the other side of the room where R2 was unlikely to be able to hear them. Both technicians kept glancing over Luke's shoulder, just to make sure the droid couldn't be listening.

"Listen kid, we need you to talk to it. Keep it distracted," one said.

"What? Why?" Luke said.

"Crazy droid has the information we need to retrieve locked deep in its memory core," said the other. "Every time we attempt a data retrieval it finds a way to close us out. Hopefully if it's talking to you it will let its guard down and we can get what we need."

"Well I suppose it couldn't hurt," Luke shrugged. "Especially if it helps get Artoo back in one piece quicker."

Luke left the pair and approached the droid. He activated a small screen directly below R2 that would translate what the droid said into basic. Questions immediately formed in Luke's mind for the droid. He wanted to know how the R2 felt about the rebellion, he wanted to know why the droid had been so determined to find Obi-wan Kenobi, but above all, he wanted to know why R2 attempted to kill Mara.

Paying a quick glance over his shoulder, the technicians appeared too engrossed in their tasks to really eavesdrop. Still, Luke decided it would be best to talk quietly, knowing R2 would pick it up with his audio sensors anyway.

Just before he could ask his question however, the door to the maintenance bay opened up and a pair of stormtroopers marched in; a pair of stormtroopers flanking a shiny golden protocol droid. At first glance, Luke decided it couldn't possibly be C-3PO, the Empire no doubt had scores of protocol droids on this station. Then R2 chimed up behind him, warbling with so much enthusiasm that he looked like he might shake off the shelf.

"Artoo is that you?" C-3PO said. "Artoo Deetoo it is you it is you! And Master Luke! Thank the Maker! Of all the places to find the two of you!"

"Threepio?" Luke said.

"You know this droid?" one of the stormtroopers said.

"Know him?" Luke said, approaching the golden droid. "My Uncle bought him a few days ago back home on Tatooine! How did he get here?"

"Well that is quite the tale!" C-3PO said. "You see-"

"He was aboard a ship we captured," one of the stormtroopers said. "Lord Vader wanted him brought down here for data retrieval on the rebellion."

"But we haven't finished with the last droid you guys sent down here!" a technician said.

"Yeah? Well I suggest you hurry up and do your job then," the stormtrooper said. "We all know how patient Lord Vader is."

With that the stormtroopers left, muttering under their breath about lazy technicians and boring duty shifts. Luke watched as they left, scratching the back of his head at the strange coincidence that just occurred. Only then did he realize that C-3PO had walked past him and engaged R2 in a lively conversation. The technicians had gone back to work, seizing the opportunity to do their job while the droids conversed.

"… an Imperial Assassin! Oh my! That does sound dreadful!" C-3PO said. "Well let that be a lesson to you then! None of it would have happened if you hadn't gone off looking for that Obi-wan Kenobi! Who wasn't even on Tatooine I might add!"

"Wait, what do you mean Obi-wan wasn't on Tatooine?" Luke said. "He attacked me at Beggars Canyon."

"I'm afraid that's impossible sir," C-3PO said.

R2 warbled something, drawing the golden droid's attention. "No, you were wrong you self-important trashcan! Obi-wan Kenobi was on a yacht owned by some sort of collector droid. We found him when we went to Nar Shadda."

"What are you talking?" Luke said. "Threepio, I left you in the desert when I was attacked. I… I expected you to be picked up by jawas and sold again at best! Now you're saying you found Obi-wan Kenobi? You and who else?"

"Princess Leia."

"The Princess!?" Luke said. "How did she escape the rebels?"

"Escape the rebels?" C-3PO said. "Master Luke I'm afraid I don't understand. As you may recall we came into your service precisely because we were with the rebellion. Princess Leia has now found Obi-wan and we were on our way home before we were brought to this dreadful place."

"The Princess is here?" Luke said. His mind reeled at the revelations from the droid. He vaguely remembered the conversation he had with C-3PO back at the homestead, back before he met Mara. Now he had two versions of the same story…

"Where is she?" he looked at the droid.

"She's being brought to the detention level by the bounty hunter," C-3PO said.

Luke didn't respond, he didn't ask any more questions. He paid a quick glance at the technicians, who had been ignoring them, then at the droids before heading out the door. He needed to get to the detention level. Then maybe he could get answers, either Mara was right or the Princess was. He intended to find out.

* * *

Leia held her head up high even as the stormtroopers led her down the hall. Without looking, she knew Winter did so as well. Even if there wasn't a plan, they would be doing so. They would never cower before Imperial muscle after all. Of course they would soon find out if they would have to continue to act, or if their performance would become reality.

Her eyes shot over to Fett. This was perhaps, the real test as to whether or not he was true to his word. If he followed the plan, they would be off the Death Star soon and with a new copy of the plans. Or he could just ignore the plan and deliver them to the detention level and collect a tidy reward.

It was a gamble they all agreed upo; to trust an enemy with their lives over something as tenuous as money.

Ahead, the turbolift loomed. Only a few moments left, but no way to back out. She could only put one foot ahead of another and wait to see what would be her fate. She heard Winter's breath catch just a bit when they neared the lift and she felt her wrists strain just slightly against the cuffs.

Mercifully, the lift arrived quickly and the stormtroopers pushed them inside. Leia used the shove to shake her arms, loosening the straps hidden beneath her sleeve. The six troopers boarded the lift, three behind them and three in front. Standard procedure; after all, there was no doubt that on the Death Star, procedure would be followed.

The lift doors began to close and Leia stared at the back of the stormtroopers standing in front of her. As she had done before, she forced thoughts about who this person was out of her mind. She shook wrist again and the lightsaber concealed in the long flowing sleeve of her dress fell out to her hands.

But then it kept falling. Bound as they were, her fingers fumbled the small cylinder and it clattered to the ground. By then Winter should have been using the lightsaber she concealed as well, but a quick glance to her companion revealed nothing but terror. Something was wrong.

The stormtroopers turned around and one bent over to pick up Leia's weapon. Without thinking, knowing that stormtroopers stood directly behind; Leia lurched right into the stormtrooper, pressing him against the wall. Hands and blaster rifles shoved her way as she went down, her hands grasping at the lightsaber.

Then blaster fire went off and Leia clasped her blade. Blue light ignited and she rolled herself around, carving a swath with the weapon against the stormtroopers that attacked her. She felt the lift beneath her slow to a stop and she realized that not only had the lift itself stilled, everything else had as well.

Leia pulled herself up, blade still ignited. It took a moment to extricate herself from the bodies but she finally managed to get upright. Six stormtroopers lay dead at her feet. Fett remained in the back of the lift, blaster barrel smoking while Winter stood off to the side, hands still bound.

"That… that didn't go according to plan," Winter said.

"We would have wound up killing them eventually," Fett said. "Might as well be sooner rather than later."

"And what happens if it's not Darklighter that meet us when the doors open but rather more Imperials?" Leia said as she moved closer to Winter and cut her binders off.

Winter reached into her own sleeve and pulled out the lightsaber she smuggled in as well. She explained that it got stuck earlier, something they knew might happen when they made straps out of torn bits of clothes in a pinch. After having her own binders removed, Leia looked to see Fett aiming his blaster at the ceiling.

Before she could do anything to stop him, the blaster went off and stray sparks rained down. He'd blown the lock off an access hatch. It took a few minutes, but soon he was standing on top of the lift, dangling half his body through the hatch while Leia and Winter worked on lifting the bodies up to him.

Finally they managed to conceal their attack and Fett came back down. And though Leia couldn't see his face, she got the distinct impression that he was quite pleased with himself. She could only sigh and engage the lift again, hoping that things went better for Obi-wan and Biggs.

The lift slowed, reaching its destination and Leia hid her lightsaber again, just in case. Not that it would matter terribly, they still had the blasters they took from the stormtroopers off in the corner if anybody really took a look.

The doors opened and Leia's heart caught in her throat, an imperial officer stood in front of them, but at second look she realized it was Biggs. Just as they planned, just as Obi-wan had said. She felt like she shouldn't have been surprised but the two of them managing to get their end done so quickly still struck her as uncanny.

"Where are the stormtroopers?" Biggs leaned to the side, trying to see more of the lift.

"We hit a… snag," Leia said.

"We took care of it," Fett said. "Now let's go."

"Alright follow me," Biggs said. "Obi-wan and I secured a control room."

The trip was brief and soon they came to a large door, upon opening they found Obi-wan leaning over the console viewing schematics of some kind. Leia had expected him to be standing guard or waiting for them pensively, instead he stared at the screen with a look of concentration and worry.

"Got 'em," Biggs said.

"Good," Obi-wan said over his shoulder. "I do hope you managed to keep things quiet."

"We weren't followed," Fett said. "What's more amazing is that we got this far. You know it's only a matter of time before they notice we didn't arrive at the detention level, or that certain officers aren't at their posts."

"Well as long as I stay here," Biggs shrugged. "I'm at my post. General Kenobi used some sort of Jedi trick to put the officer in charge of this control room asleep."

"Nevertheless," Obi-wan finally swiveled away from the screen. "The bounty hunter is right. We have a very short window in which we can make our escape. I've managed to get enough access to find the location of a power terminal linked to the tractor beam. I should be able to knock it out."

"You?" Fett said. "You've been on ice for the better part of two decades. I'm surprised you even know how to enter a passcode, let alone deactivate a tractor beam."

"Computer interface has hardly changed in the last hundred years, let alone the twenty I've been away," Obi-wan said. "And as far as the tractor beam goes, shortly before the end of the Clone Wars I was instructed on how to deactivate just such a machine on Escarte. I'm certain that knowledge will remain useful here."

"That gets us the ability to leave," Winter said. "What about transport?"

"We borrow as ship Empire and get the hell out of here," Biggs said. "I'm sure they won't miss any."

"There's one in the docking bay below us," Obi-wan said.

"What about Threepio?" Leia said. "Has he made contact yet?"

"Not yet," Obi-wan said. "But I'm certain we will hear from him shortly with news of the Death Star plans."

"I can't believe we're trusting the protocol droid into getting the plans," Biggs shook his head.

"Just be thankful you won't have to listen to him report it once we make contact with the Rebellion," Obi-wan shrugged as he stood up and made for the door. "He's going to have to recite every line of code in order to make a full readout. In the mean time, wait here and don't do anything rash, I will return as soon as I can."

"Wait," Leia moved to intercept him. "You shouldn't go out there alone, let me come with you."

"Be patient Leia, stay and wait for Threepio's signal, unless we get the plans from him other planets will suffer the same fate as Alderaan," Obi-wan said then placed a hand on her shoulder. "And although I am leaving, the Force will be with you always."

That said, the Jedi opened the door and left, firing Leia one last kindly smile before he went. She stood there frowning and trying to shake the odd feeling that he was saying goodbye for the last time. Eventually she turned away from the door to see the others either staring at her or trying to ignore her.

"I'm fine," she said. "And we need to try and break into the database ourselves should Threepio-"

" _Hello_?" the droid's voice came suddenly from her comlink. " _I say, hello? Is anyone there?_ "

"Threepio," Leia said. "Have you managed to find access to the Death Star network?"

" _I'm afraid I haven't my Lady, however you'll never believe who I have found_!" the droid's voice came over with enough excitement to practically melt the comlink.

"Threepio we really don't have time for this," Leia said. "You need to try and access the network and read the lay out codes."

" _But that's what I'm trying to tell you my lady! I don't have too, Artoo is here! And he still has the plans in his memory core!_ "

Leia felt her jaw slacken somewhat and her eyes widen as her mind tried to process the news. Her immediate response was to tell the droid that he was mistaken, that it was another R2 unit, but droids could tell the difference between other droids far easier than organics could. If C-3PO thought it was R2, then it was R2.

And if R2 was on the station then that meant.

"Threepio this is Biggs," the rebel pilot took the comlink from the princess. "Is Luke with him?"

"I'm afraid Master Luke just left in a hurry," the droid responded. "I haven't an idea as to where he's got to. But you must listen to me, Artoo has informed me that Viceroy Organa is also here! He's scheduled for execution!"

This time Fett grabbed the comlink even as Leia went for it. "Organa is here? On the detention level? Tell that little droid to connect with the mainframe and send us intel as to which cellblock he's at."

"You mean to rescue him?" Winter narrowed her eyes at the bounty hunter.  
"Of course I do," Fett said. "He's my best assurance of getting paid for all of this."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Biggs said. "Walk down there and demand a bounty on him?"

Leia shook her head, while the two argued. At this point it was about all she could do. Her father alive! R2 there with the Death Star plans! Obi-wan and Qui-gon both spoke about how the Force would guide them, now she felt more and more like they were right.

"What about Luke?" Biggs said. "We have to figure out a way to find him!"

"Now who's not thinking?" Fett said. "We know where Organa is, your pal could be anywhere in this karking station."

" _He left after I told him that Princess Leia had been captured_ ," C-3PO voice came. _"Perhaps he went to the detention level too_?"

"It's as good a place as any to start," Biggs said. "Have Artoo scan the network for any sign of him."

" _I will sir but…_ " the droid said and is voice dropped a bit. " _There are imperial technicians working on him. They don't know that he's managed remote access by using a feedback loop. Artoo will be limited in what he can do._ "

"So the question is then…" Winter said. "… how do we get ourselves down there?"

"The same way the imperials originally intended," Leia said. "We were due to arrive at the detention level, it would be rude to disappoint them."

* * *

"Who are you?" the stormtrooper said in a husky slightly, accented voice.

"Uh… Luke Sk… Sunrider," Luke said

"Well then Luke 'Sk-Sunrider'," the stormtrooper said with derision as the other soldiers in the group room chuckled. "Mind if I ask what you think you're doing down here?"

"I was looking for the detention level," Luke said, scratching the back of his head as he stared at all the stormtroopers. "I guess I got lost."

"Yeah?" the trooper said. "Well if you don't give me some proper authorization you might just find yourself staying down there."

Luke looked around, he didn't even have his identification with him. He left that in the clothes he wore when he arrived and hadn't bothered to carry it with him when he changed into the TIE pilot uniform that he still wore. Now he stood in front of a group of stormtroopers in what looked like an… engine room of some sort, having no way to prove he was who he said he was.

The stormtrooper must have grown sick of waiting because before he knew it, the soldier clasped Luke's arm and led him over to a nearby console. Luke tried to protest but the stormtrooper squeezed his arm tighter then activated the comunit.

"Commander Topelli," the stormtrooper said. "I found one of your drones wandering around in Engineering. You wanna explain to me what the hell he's doing down here?"

"TIE pilot?" Topelli said. "What's his operating number?"

"Tell me your number boy," the stormtrooper said.

"I… I don't have one," Luke said.

"Look boy," the stormtrooper growled. "I was trashing clankers back before you were even born in whatever hayseed planet you're from. I'm too old to deal with kids like you playing dumb. Now tell me your number."

"I don't have a number!" Luke said. "I'm not a TIE pilot! Lord Vader sent me to TIE control for testing because he thought I showed promise! Tell the Commander who I am, he can vouch for me!"

The stormtrooper didn't move at first, and Luke adverted his gaze a bit, knowing the soldier's eyes bore down on him behind the helmet. In the back of his mind, Mara's advice about always being cautious around stormtroopers came back. Was this one of the troopers that was 'heavy handed' like Mara said? He sure seemed like it.

"Don't move an inch," the stormtrooper said. It took a few minutes and even though Luke heard Commander Topelli recognize his name immediately, he refused to relax until the stormtrooper conversation began to wind down.

"Be nice if Lord Vader would give us some notice about his pet projects," the stormtrooper finally said to Topelli. "Very well, just make sure you keep your guys in line. This isn't the first pilot we've had down here."

"Keep your guys out of TIE control and we'll talk," Topelli said. "I'm not one of your clones that you get to boss around Commander Cody. Don't give me orders."

The stormtrooper muttered a curse under his breath as the communication ended then he simply turned and looked to Luke for a minute, as though considering what to do with him.

"Looks like it's your lucky day kid," Cody said. "Your story pans out and Lord Vader apparently took a shine to you. So I'm only going to say this once, get back to the area of the station your authorized to be in and don't leave."

"Okay, I will," Luke said. "But like I said, I'm lost, I was on my way to the detention level to visit a prisoner."

The stormtrooper muttered something under his breath then motioned for Luke to follow him to the turbolift.

"I'm not going to be the one to explain to Vader that you fell down a shaft because you were wandering this station without knowing the difference between left and right," Cody said. "Thirty five years of service and I'm reduced to a karking babysitter."

* * *

"Where are you taking this… _girl_ ," the detention block commander said, his eyes roving over Leia's form. Leia tightened her lips, knowing that telling him off wouldn't do much good at the moment.

"Check your logs," Biggs said, stepping up to the lieutenant, knowing his uniform outranked the other man's. "We were sent to deliver the Princess to her new… accommodations."

"That's the Princess is it?" the lieutenant said, casting another glance her way. "You're late."

"Blame it on her companion," Biggs motioned toward Fett, who had Winter slung over his shoulder. "She tried to run off and we had to stun her. She's feisty for such a tiny little thing, even half stunned she gave us a devil of a time."

"I see," came the reply. "And where is your detachment of stormtroopers? Your companion couldn't have scared them off."

"Didn't need them," Fett said. "Not when I'm here. Now hurry up, I've got to meet with your boss, Darth Vader, once I've delivered these prisoners."

"Very well," the lieutenant said then motioned for his men to take the prisoners. "Just let me confirm that everything is in order."

The men advanced and Leia bit the inside of her cheek. This was where the entire plan either worked or failed miserably. If they didn't go for it, a firefight would erupt right then and there, no telling who would win in that encounter. This was their only chance at keeping things quiet.

"Lord Vader gave me special orders," Biggs said. "He wants the Princess put in with the Viceroy, something of a family reunion to make them consider just exactly what we can take from them if they don't cooperate."

The lieutenant stared at Biggs for a moment but then his eyes strayed to the rank markings on his uniform. For a moment he clearly debated what to do. Clearly this was a by the book sort of guy and this was unusual, but on the other hand, Biggs outranked him.

Finally the man relented and the guards approached Leia, taking her by the arms. It was going to work, this man clearly feared his superiors more than standard protocol. And it made sense, this space station was a monument to the Tarkin Doctrine of rule through fear, so the officers would have to have something to fear as well.

Biggs remained with the officers as the soldiers led Leia down the hexagonal hallway with Fett carting Winter behind them. Leia managed a small look back, Biggs had managed to get close to the console… good. Now he just needed a distraction…

Suddenly Winter threw herself off of Fett's shoulders and made a break for it. The officers closed in around her, including the ones in the control room. Before any of them could fire, Fett lanced his arm out and a cable shot out, wrapping itself around her, bringing her down hard. Leia winced and tried to get to her but the stormtroopers held her fast.

"Told you she was feisty," Biggs said, coming up behind the others after they'd all gathered around.

"We ought to have simply shot her," the lieutenant said.

"Funny," Biggs said, jamming his blaster into the lieutenant's back. "That's what Fett said about you.

The stormtroopers aimed their blasters but Biggs wrapped his arm around the lieutenant's neck and shouted for them all to lower their weapons. They hesitated for a moment, more than enough time for Leia to slip out of her cuffs and ignite her lightsaber drawing it across the neck of the nearest stormtrooper. Similarly Fett released Winter and both of them had their weapons trained on the soldiers.

"What is this?" the lieutenant said.

"Order them to drop their weapons," Biggs said. "Do it!"

Slowly, the lieutenant gave the order and the blasters and thermal detonators clattered to the floor.

"Now the comlinks," Fett said. "Give them to me and the girl."

Winter and Fett collected the comlinks and made sure they were switched off. Then, only then did they open an empty cell and usher the guards and officers in. Leia refrained from smiling just yet, not until she was certain they wouldn't try anything.

"You'll never get away with this," the lieutenant said. "There are cameras on every wall."

"I shut them off when you all ran into the hallway," Biggs said. "By the time someone notices we'll be long gone."

With that, Biggs hit the switch and the door clapped shut, locking in all possible resistance. Leia shut down her lightsaber and let the grin she felt show, just a little. They'd managed it so far. Now they just had to find her father.

"Not bad if I do say so myself," Biggs grinned widely, placing his arm on Winter's shoulders. "Not bad for all of us, I was worried we were going to have to blast our way out."

"Would have been the worst strategy," Fett said. "The alarms would go off and we'd have the entire station breathing down our neck. Only idiots would try it that way."

"Well it won't take them long to send someone down," Leia said then looked to Biggs. "Did you find my Father?"

"2187," Biggs said.

"Got it," Leia said, running down the hallway until she came to the one she needed. She paused in front of the door and took a deep breath, fearing that she might open the door and find the cell empty, or her father already dead.

Fett came up behind her and reached out for the door control switch. She quickly jammed the button before he could, not willing to give him the satisfaction of letting her father out. The door flew up and Leia's fears came crashing down in an instant. Her father, Bail Organa lay there just waking up from what looked like fitful sleep.

"Father!"

"Leia? Either my eyes are fooling me or you're far too pretty to be a stormtrooper!" Bail said getting up just in time for his daughter to throw herself into his arms. Then Fett came in just behind him, holding his blaster casually in front of him.

"What's going on?" Bail said as she pulled away.

"We've come to rescue you!" Leia said. "We've found Obi-wan Kenobi!"

"Obi-wan Kenobi!?" Bail said, rushing out the door past Fett. "Where is he?"

"He's dealing with the tractor beam," Leia ran beside him. "And he's… well… nevermind, let's just say we've had quite the adventure finding him."

"I can't wait to hear about it," Bail said as they reached Winter and Biggs, the former handing him a blaster. "It looks like all my back up plans should you be captured came in handy. Never imagined you'd be the one rescuing me, or that you'd bring the bounty hunter with you."

"You still owe me a lot of money Viceroy," Fett said. "Even more now that I'm busting you out."

"We'll discuss it as soon as we get away," Bail said.

They reached the end of the hallway, Leia kept herself next to her father. Deep down, her heart still mourned for Alderaan, and all the family that she had lost, but she felt nothing but joy at having him by her side after thinking him dead. She wouldn't let him out of her sight.

Just about to enter the control room again, then cross to the turbolifts, the group paused when the light above the lift blinked on and the doors hissed open. Fett's blaster came up first, followed by Winter. Bail, Leia, and Biggs all hesitated, then froze when instead of seeing a squad of stormtroopers coming out to investigate, they were greeted by a single solitary stormtrooper and boy all of them knew except for Bail.

"Luke!"

"Biggs?"


	15. Cell Blocks and Tractor Beams

With his breath filtering through the helmet, he decided once again that he made the right decision to leave the Empire all those years ago. This thing was the worst. But it so far helped him walk about the space station unnoticed so as much as he disliked it, the helmet was going nowhere.

Still, every time an officer neared, or even another stormtrooper, he felt awkward like they would just somehow magically figure it out that he just wore the uniform as a disguise as opposed to being one of the faithful. All this because he took the wrong job. How did that keep happening to him?

Han pushed such thoughts aside and focused on his task. Nearly to the tractor beam power control junction, he would have to keep all of his wits about him if he intended to pull it off. A lone stormtrooper walking the halls was one thing. A lone stormtrooper fiddling with a power console where he shouldn't be was something else altogether.

Still, something strange was going on. Every now and again he came upon an officer or small group of stormtroopers that seemed to be on something. They'd stare right past him, or walk around in a cloudy daze. Spice was widely illegal in the Empire, so it wouldn't make sense for military officers to be using it at all, let alone while on duty in the Empire's newest toy.

Whatever the reason, Han took full advantage of it. Whenever he came across one of these befuddled soldiers, he knew to skip right by, no awkward conversations or head nods, no signaling which way he was going on the turbolifts to keep others from joining him. Just go.

Eventually he came to what he set out for in the first place. And upon seeing it, he had to shake his head. Who the hell built this station? Who approved its design decisions? The TIE launch pit next to the _Falcon_ back at the hanger he understood, but it shared the exact same problem as what lay before him.

Lack of railings.

Specifically in this case it seemed outright insane. A long, narrow, walkway stretching across a chasm punctuated by extending just slightly to circle the large power pylon tied to the tractor beam. All without a single. damn. railing. It made no sense. Especially given just how much the Empire loved regulations. He couldn't even imagine the safety code violations involved in this.

But that's why he was a simple pilot and not a bureaucrat.

Still, safety code violations or not, he had to go out there and risk his neck to get the _Falcon_ free. He only hoped that Chewie had the hyperdrive working, otherwise it would be a very short trip. Especially if that Mara Jade was issuing the orders to 'capture them'.

Reaching the pylon, Han again shook his head. The control panel was on the opposite side. He would have to shuffle around it with his back to the bottomless pit in order to access the power controls. For a brief moment, Han glanced down the edge of the walkway and he felt his stomach sink. What a stupid move! He knew better than to look down!

After a moment of consideration and even debating on trying to find another way, Han reached into the utility belt on his armor and pulled out the grappling hook. After attaching it some sturdy framework, he coiled out some of the fiber-cable and held it in one hand. With each step he took he fed more of the line out, giving him enough slack to advance a little more.

Maybe it wasn't the bravest move, but Han Solo had survived this long in life knowing the difference between bravery and suicide and going without a lifeline seemed far too close to the latter.

Han worked way around, just about to reach the controls and then it happened.

Almost too quickly for him to realize what was going on.

Just as he reached the controls, someone else came from the other side. A bearded man in brown robes. The pair looked at each other for a split second before the other lanced his hand out and Han found himself propelled into the open air.

For a moment all he could hear was the whistling of air around him, then the reeling of the line attached to his belt. The fibercord raced out of its housing and Han fumbled for it, fearing that it would simply run off the line when it was out.

His gloved fingers managed to catch the cord and suddenly he wasn't falling but swinging. At some point his helmet flew off and he nearly hit the opposite wall before swinging back the other way. Dangling precariously over the pit he could only look up at the underside of the walkway and then at his attacker as he came into view; staring at him with a completely baffled look.

"Hey!" Han called up, trying to wrap the cord around his hand to give himself more leverage. Instead he slipped a little and struggled to grip the fibrecord tighter. "Hey! A little help here?"

"Hello!" the man said. "That's quite the trick, anchoring yourself that way. You'll be alright once some of your fellow troops arrive. In the meantime I can't have you following me so you'll just have to hang about for a while."

"Wait! No! I'm not a stormtrooper!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"I'm not a stormtrooper!" Han said, feeling himself slipping a bit more. "I'm a pilot I snuck down here to deactivate the tractor beam so I could get my ship off of this damn station!"

"You can't be serious," the man shook his head. "Was yours the Corellian light freighter?"

"Yeah and I'll tell you all about it once you help me up!"

"Oh! Of course, right…" the man said and reached his hand out.

Han opened his mouth to point the obvious out to the guy, that he was far out of reach but then he felt some sort of invisible… force… press against his body and he began to rise. At first he scarcely believed it, he wondered if he'd hit his head or something. But as he continued upward he couldn't deny what was happening. Somehow this guy up there was levitating him to safety.

Soon enough Han hovered just in front of the platform even as his… rescuer guided his hand over, causing Han to drift to the side until his toes scraped the walkway and the invisible force disappeared, depositing him on solid dura-steel.

"I'll just be a moment," the man called on the other side of the pylon. "I'm deactivating the tractor beam."

Han barely heard him. His heart still pounded from the entire experience. His eyes shot to the grappling hook and he almost felt the urge to kiss it. The man might have magically helped him back to safety but the hook saved his life.

"Alright," the man crept around the pylon before standing before Han, his arms folded together beneath his robes. "Now that we've gotten that taken care of, my name is Obi-wan Kenobi and I'd like to book passage on your ship."

* * *

Biggs wanted to take Luke aside, to a nice quiet place where he could explain everything. He'd ask his friend what had happened and what lies the assassin had told him. Then he'd fill him in on the truth and counter every argument that had been put in his friend's head.

Unfortunately, he was in quite literally the worst place in the entire galaxy to attempt such a thing. The moment the stormtrooper saw them, he drew his blaster and fired a shot square into Boba Fett's chest, sending the bounty hunter flying backwards. Even as Leia, Winter, and Bail returned fire, the stormtrooper latched onto Luke and threw them both behind the cover of the central control console.

In the time he'd been with the Rebel Alliance, Biggs learned one over arching fact about stormtroopers. They were wildly inconsistent. For every five that couldn't seem to hit the broad side of a sandcrawler, there might be three or more that actually knew what they were doing.

And this one… this one knew what he was doing.

Before they had a chance to find cover of their own, he began pumping blaster bolts their way, driving them back into the corridor. They returned fire, and while they had him woefully outnumbered, he had the only good cover. While he ducked behind the console desk they flattened their backs against the walls, hoping to keep themselves out of his sights.

"This is some rescue!" Bail said. "You had a plan for getting in and out, you didn't have a back up?"

"Maybe you'd like it back in your cell Father!" Leia barked back at him.

Biggs forced himself to not listen to them as he peered around the entrance. The stormtrooper still laid out blaster shots but he could see Luke peeking up over the edge of the console as well. The two of them locked eyes and Biggs threw back his head, trying to signal his friend to join them.

Luke shook his head.

Somehow in the chaos, another blaster joined theirs in the fray, blasting at the lone stormtrooper. Fett appeared, backing into the hallway, his blaster spitting bolts with every step until he reached them. A charred, black mark shown off on his armor but otherwise he looked fine.

"Good thing G0-T0 had this armor built to specification," He muttered. "Someone cover me so I can get down there and end this!"

"Not while Luke's down there you're not!" Biggs said.

"Who is this Luke?" Bail shouted.

"His friend Luke Sky… Skywalker!" Leia yelled. "Somehow he got mixed up with the Empire!"

"Skywalker?" Bail said, his face growing pale.

"What do we do then Biggs? We can't stay here long!" Winter said. "Either we have to deal with this stormtrooper or find another way out because he's probably already called friends!"

"Then I suggest we bring out some friends of our own!" Bail said taking aim at the console and letting a bolt loose into the circuitry.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fett yelled.

"Creating a distraction," Bail said. "Darklighter, you get to Luke as soon as-"

He didn't have time to finish the sentence. Even as he spoke, the electronic chain reaction his blaster bolt created short circuited the computer and behind them, the cells opened up. The guards and officers from earlier rushed out, but so too did other prisoners. Some were officers and soldiers thrown in there for dereliction of duty, others were miscreants and scoundrels in the wrong place at the wrong time. And in the middle of it all a couple of wookiees, left over from the slave labor they performed to build the monstrosity, roared above the crowd.

Where as before the battle was simply one of party 'A' attacking party 'b', suddenly the detention block erupted in chaos and confusion. Was it a good plan? Probably not, but it allowed them to do what they needed to do. Move. The guards they trapped earlier rushed at them, only to be intercepted by other former prisoners and all too quickly the fighting overtook them and spilled into the main control room.

Biggs seized the moment and went after Luke. An officer assaulted him but Biggs knocked him back with the butt of his rifle before finally reaching his friend. He grabbed Luke's arm but quickly had to duck down when the stormtrooper blasted away at him.

Luckily, one of the wookiees had broken through and latched onto the stormtrooper, dragging him into the fray. Biggs looked to Luke again and shook his head, so much confusion in his face… what had the Empire done to him?

"Come on!" Biggs yelled over the commotion. "We have to get out of here!"

"What's going on Biggs!?" Luke pulled back. "Are you trying to kidnap Princess Leia for the Rebellion?"

"Kidnap her!?" Biggs said. "Luke, she's on our side! Always has been! Now come on!"

"I can't!" Luke said. "Biggs! The Rebellion killed my family!"

Biggs tried to respond but the lieutenant from earlier had managed to reach them, he lunged at Biggs, only to receive a blaster bolt in the back for all of his troubles. Winter neared, blaster barrel smoking and she ducked beneath the console desk.

"We're going for the tubolift!" Winter said. "It's now or never Biggs."

"Luke, you've got to come with us!" Biggs said. "I promise I'll explain everything! We're not the bad guys here I swear!"

Already, Leia, Bail, and Fett had broken through the crowd, heading for the turbolifts. Guards tried to get at him but couldn't do much as they were the only ones with blasters at this point. Biggs urged Luke again and finally his friend nodded and stood up, joining them at the doors.

The lift-car reached its destination and the doors hissed open. At this point Biggs expected anything. He expected a car full of stormtroopers, the crimson haired assassin rushing after her prize, even Darth Vader himself, but to his great surprise it lay empty before them.

Unfortunately what he needed to worry about wasn't what was in front but rather behind.

Upon seeing the open and empty liftcar the former prisoners surged forward; each trying to get ahead of the next in their attempt to get to freedom. The prisoners clawed, and shoved, and trampled, and howled in their attempts, when they finally reached there, they hit with the force of an oncoming speeder.

Biggs and the rest of the group stumbled into each other as the prisoners scrambled to get in. Before anyone else could move, Fett fired several shots into the crowd then stumbled to his feet and jammed the door button. Biggs managed to get his head up just in time to see Luke be pulled back from the door by the mob. Then the door shut and the lift took off.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Mara's instincts had stood on edge every since they came to the Death Star. How could they not be when her mission lay at the tip of a vibroblade? She'd had a near miss with Vader's blood test. Had she arrived earlier she might have been able to replace the entire sample and thus throw Vader off the scent. As it was, all she had time to do was change enough markers that Luke hadn't read as Skywalker's son.

At least now she knew why her Master wanted him so much. She saw his midi-chlorian count. No one had one that high. He must have inherited his father's gifts. Gifts that rightfully belonged to the Emperor. Once she brought Skywalker before her Master, he would either train him or kill him.

But Mara needed to get them off this battle station if that were to happen.

She had been on her way to the _Millennium Falcon_ to confirm that the security had indeed eliminated Solo and his pet wookiee, in fact she even got so far as to board the loading ramp and see Solo's body prone on the ground, then something stirred in the Force.

Her Master had taught her enough that when such stirrings occurred, it was best not to ignore them. Soon she found herself wandering down the corridors near some of the energy pylons that fed the station, particularly the tractor beam. All Imperial ships, Death Star included, carried backdoor access codes that only the Emperor and his highest agents knew. When the time came to take Luke and the _Falcon_ , Mara had intended to deactivate the tractor beam that way but the thought had occurred to her to disable a pylon as a backup.

That still didn't explain why the Force had brought her down here.

Still, this was where the disturbance was strongest, and her eyes easily noticed the tell tale signs of mental manipulation by a Force user. Someone had been messing with the minds of guards and officers in the area. Her brows knit together as she puzzled about who it might be. Vader and Luke were the only other Force users on the station beside herself. Vader would have no reason to use a mind trick and Luke didn't even know that was possibility.

Abruptly she came into one of the pylon control rooms and stepped onto a narrow bridge. Her eyes, she decided, must have been playing tricks on her. She stared at a dead man and a vision of the Jedi from the ancient past. A couple of blinks and she knew her sight didn't betray her. Solo had survived somehow and he did indeed stand next to someone dressed exactly like a Jedi Knight. Quietly as possible, Mara approached, her blaster drawn.

"Well hello there," the Jedi noticed her first. "And who might you be? A friend of Captain Solo?"

"Hardly," Solo said. "She's an Imperial assassin, she sent a team to my ship to kill me and my co-pilot."

"A team that obviously failed in its task," Mara said. "Tell me Solo, did you even give them a chance to fight back or did you just shoot them in cold blood?"

"I don't think I need to justify myself to the likes of you sweetheart," Solo said. "Maybe next time you have a problem with me you come to me face to face instead of sending a disguised team to do your dirty work for you."

Mara rolled her eyes at him but otherwise didn't respond. Her focus turned to the Jedi. Her initial instinct was to assume he was simply a fake, but the fact that she'd seen evidence of Force manipulation boxed that idea out.

"And who are you?" she said. "Some burnt out padawan that somehow survived the Purges? Darth Vader is the one you're looking for if you want to settle that score."

"Believe me," the Jedi said. "Vader and I do have an account to settle, but I'm much more interested in getting off this station at the moment."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening," Mara said. "See, Vader is watching me too closely for me to take a shuttle. I need Solo's ship to get off myself. Somehow I don't think he'd be very hospitable to me as a passenger."

"I'd take a page from the droid and space you," Solo said.

"And I'd do what I should have done myself," Mara said, squeezing the trigger of her blaster.

A crimson bolt spat out of the barrel, aimed right at Solo's head, but with a familiar snap/hiss, the Jedi's lightsaber flashed out and deflected it. The Jedi took a defensive stance, putting himself in front of Solo. This confirmed two things to Mara. One, this man was no pretender. He was clearly trained in the Jedi arts. And two, her blaster would do her no good.

"Here," the Jedi handed a comlink to Solo without taking his eyes off of Mara. "Get to your ship, contact the Princess and let her know to rendezvous with you there. I'll be along shortly."

"Princess…" Mara narrowed her eyes as Solo disappeared down the corridor. "…as in Princess Leia Organa I take it?"

Mara peered at the Jedi and for a moment she thought she remembered seeing him in old holo-vids with footage from the Clone Wars. She knew the princess had been in search of Obi-wan Kenobi and this man looked… no it was impossible.

"I can feel the Force in you," the Jedi said. "Clearly you've had training in its ways. I'm warning you that now would not be a good time or place for you to test those skills."

"I was trained by the Emperor himself," Mara ignited her lightsaber. "Taught at his feet to accomplish any goal. You will not stand between me and mine."

Without another word, Mara launched herself at him, only to have her lightsaber caught by his. She called upon her training and came at him from one angle and then another. Each time he answered with easy blocks. To her frustration, at no point did he actually appear to be working hard to stop her. His face remained passive and almost nonchalant. Finally realizing that she was going to have to work for it, Mara withdrew, collecting herself for her next attack.

"It is as I suspected," the Jedi said. "You're master has taught you only the most basic forms. Mostly the Shii-cho with perhaps a hint of Ataru, more than enough when dealing with the odd gangster or political dissident but I'm afraid you'd fall short in any contest between the two of us."

"We'll see!" Mara fired herself at him again. This time she put everything she had into her attacks. Her blade whirled in every conceivable direction, driving at any perceived opening and she began to push the Jedi back. Strike after strike he retreated until he nearly reached the doorway Solo had fled from.

Unwilling to let her prey go so easily, Mara called on the Force and somersaulted over him, blocking his path. She held her blade out in front of her in triumph, having finally put this supposed Jedi in his place. Then she noticed the ease of each breath as it came out of his mouth, the calm look he wore on his face and the near pity in his eyes.

At no point had this been an actual challenge for him. In fact, he then nodded her direction and Mara looked down to see several clean cuts across the fabric of her pants, sleeves, and most horribly, along her torso. Not only had she not been a threat, he'd left ample evidence that he could have ended their contest at any time; all without leaving an actual scratch on her.

"Who are you?" Mara wrinkled her brows, fighting back an inkling of fear.

"My name is Obi-wan Kenobi," he replied. "If I had the time I would like to know your name my dear and even try to persuade you away from the Emperor's service. However, I really must be going so I will ask you to stand aside, otherwise I will be forced to end this."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Mara said. "That's impossible, Kenobi should be in his sixties! If he's alive at all."

"Oh I'm very much alive," Obi-wan said. "Let's just say I've… aged well."

"Cute," Mara said, dropping one hand to her side. "Whoever the hell you are, you're right, you've got me outclassed in lightsaber combat. But that still won't do you any good. I can defeat you."

"Please don't-" he started but Mara drew her blaster in a flash and fired it at him, slashing at him with her lightsaber at the same time. Then, to her horror, he merely sidestepped her blaster shots, blocked her attack and with a disappointed sigh, swept his hand through the air.

The Force hit her like a battering ram, knocking her feet out from under her and flipping her off the bridge. Mara didn't scream, she didn't cry out, finding she really only had time to watch the Jedi exit the room after so easily bested her. She barely had time to latch onto the ledge, already feeling her fingers slipping.

Perhaps, she thought as the wind raced around her. Perhaps he was Obi-wan Kenobi.

* * *

"Kid, you okay?" Cody said.

Luke's head pounded and his arms strained in muscles he never even really knew he had; the result of being dragged away from the door by the mob. A mob that now lay mostly dead or returned to their cells. Shortly after Biggs and his group escaped, the officers and guards managed to access emergency hold out gear and pacified the crowd. Luke just thanked his stars that they hadn't included him in the fray.

"I'm… I'm alright," Luke said as he looked up at the stormtrooper, who had lost his helmet in the fight. To Luke's surprise he was… old. Battle scars lined his face and once jet black hair had faded to a dark grey. Luke had no idea stormtroopers stayed in the service so long.

"Good," Cody said. "Now I want some answers. You were talking to them, you know them. Tell me what's going on."

For a moment Luke considered not breathing a word of his short conversation with Biggs, but he couldn't really come up with a reason not to. Besides, this stormtrooper had thought of protecting him immediately upon seeing what he thought was a threat. Luke had grown slightly leery of trusting people lately but this man's actions spoke quite clearly.

"Biggs was a friend of mine," Luke said. "He's with the rebellion or at least says he is. He was trying to get me to come with him."

"And you were going to go?" Cody said.

"I…" Luke stopped himself, worried he might get in trouble. "He has some answers that I need. Plus he and Princess Leia have apparently found some old Jedi named Obi-wan Kenobi and I need to-"

"Kenobi?" Cody said. "Kenobi is here?"

"I… I don't know," Luke said taken back by the sudden urgency in the stormtroopers voice. "Based on what I was told I think so. Did you know him?"

"Just a bit," the stormtrooper said, gathering up his helmet. "And if he's here then there's one place he's going an I have something to do I should have twenty years ago."

"I'll come with you," Luke said.

"Sorry kid, stay with the guards here until we're given the all clear signal, trust me, you don't want to be near a Jedi when things go south."

"You don't understand," Luke approached the stormtrooper. "I have to get to Kenobi. He killed my father."

"You're father?" Cody said. "Who's your father?"

"Anakin Skywalker."

Cody's eyes narrowed and for a moment even grew angry. Then he pulled his helmet back on and picked up his blaster. Luke remained where he stood as the stormtrooper activated the lift and then turned back to face him.

"Stick close to me kid, and if I say you run, you run." Cody said.

Luke nodded and moved for the lift. Then his eyes caught the glint of metal on the ground. Cody was busy surveying the damage around the room and Luke took the opportunity to pick the small object up. One that he recognized by now, one he'd even learned a bit about.

A lightsaber.

Someone most have dropped it in the riot. Luke quickly clipped it to his belt. He'd prefer a blaster but at least he knew he could deflect blaster bolts with it. He still didn't know how truthful Mara had been with him, but he knew he could use what she taught him. He could only hope it would help him when they found Kenobi.

* * *

"He is here."

"Obi-wan Kenobi?" Tarkin said. "What makes you think so?"

"A tremor in the Force," Vader said. "The last time I felt was in the presence of my old master."

"Surely he must be dead by now," Tarkin stood from the table and approached the dark lord.

"Don't underestimate the Force," Vader said.

"The Jedi are extinct, there fire has gone out from the universe," the com-unit beeped even as he spoke. "You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."

The officer on the other end announced the emergency happening down at the detention level, the exact same level Viceroy Organa had been held at, and where his daughter was to be kept as well. Tarkin immedaitly ordered all sections of the station to be on the alert.

"Obi-wan _is_ here," Vader said, certainty in his voice. "The Force is with him."

"If you're right, then he must not be allowed to escape," Tarkin said.

"Escape is not his plan," Vader said. "He is the last of the Jedi and the greatest. I must face him, alone."


	16. Reunions

Whatever hope they had in secrecy was gone now.

They knew that much.

They knew that even before the general alert sounded. Quietly capturing a few guards on a cell block was one thing. Escaping a prison riot was something that would get noticed no matter what. As their liftcar continued along, they all prepped their weapons, knowing that they would get used. It was Winter that was first to break the silence.

"Blast!"

"What is it?" Leia said.

"The lightsaber I smuggled in, it's gone. I must have dropped it in the fray!"

Leia closed her eyes and sighed. She knew that she should have used one of the other lightsabers they had. But for some reason, when grabbing one for Winter, she felt that it ought to be Qui-gon's. Now they'd lost it for good.

"You're better off with a blaster anyway," Biggs said. "The lightsaber was just supposed to be back up for the first part of the plan. That's gone out the airlock by now."

"Which brings us to a pertinent question," Bail said. "What _is_ the current plan?"

"Get to a shuttle and hope that Kenobi came through on his end," Fett said. "If that tractor beam is still operational we won't be going anywhere."

"Obi-wan will do his part," Leia said then glanced to her father. "You were right to send me after him."

"He's one of the finest men I've ever met," Bail smiled wistfully. "It will be good to see him again after all these years."

"Yeah… about that," Leia said. "He might be-"

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened, presenting them with nearly an entire squad of stormtroopers. Before any of them could react, Fett shoved a fist forward and flames belched out at the soldiers. The stormtroopers stumbled over each other and ran, with Fett in hot pursuit. Leia, Bail, Biggs, and Winter just stared at the scene with a slight sense of confusion. One man chasing an entire squad, not something they ever expected to see.

"He certainly is brave," Winter said.

"Not going to do him much good if he gets himself killed," Biggs said. "I doubt that armor can take another shot to the chest."

"Come on," Leia said. "We have to try and find a hanger that…"

Her comlink beeped and Leia almost jumped. With any luck, it was good news from the Jedi she and her father had placed so much confidence in. While already moving out of the lift, she raised the comlink and answered.

"Obi-wan?"

" _Sorry sweetheart Obi-wan is a little busy right now_ ," came a voice that Leia couldn't quite place.

"Who is this?"

" _Don't tell my you've already forgotten me_!" the voice said. " _After how close we got at the corner booth in the cantina?_ "

Without thinking, Leia's eyes darted to her father then shot back to the comlink. "Captain Solo," she said. "If I'd have known you were aboard I would have looked for you at the ship's lounge or perhaps the garbage chute."

" _Seems like the kind of place we'd meet isn't it_?" Solo's voice came. " _Listen sweetheart, I just met with your Jedi friend and he's chartered my ship for your little escape. So if you can make it to Docking bay 327 I'll be your ticket off this thing._ "

"Captain Solo I've seen your ship, are you certain you've used enough adhesive tape and glue to hold it together?"

" _I'm your best shot at getting away from here sister! Don't get snippy with me_!"

"I wouldn't dream of it Captain Solo, we'll meet you there as soon as we can."

" _Great, and try not to bring a platoon with you, getting out of here's going to be hard enough as it is_."

"We'll try our best," Leia said as the transmission ended.

She then looked up to see her three companions firing curious stares her direction, particularly her father. Quickly Leia stashed the comlink away and started toward the nearest exit. Behind her, Biggs and Winter made some sort of comment about her needing a private conversation but she did her best to ignore them. Was it so wrong that she matched Solo's attitude? Especially when he was offering them a way out?

Such thoughts unfortunately, didn't have much time to germinate in her head as when they rounded the corner they came upon another detachment of stormtroopers; this one clearly looking for them. Leia had said that they'd do their best to avoid bringing patrols and now she had to find a way to make good on it.

Blaster fire shot from both sides and just as quickly, Leia and her father found themselves split from Winter and Biggs. Without having to say the words to one another they ran separate directions, knowing that they would all meet at the appropriate location when the time came. They had to.

* * *

Biggs' heart pounded as he raced with Winter alongside him. At some point they'd taken a wrong turn and now were completely lost. Every now and again they would pass a mouse droid and he longed to approach it and order it to guide them to the docking bay. Which would be a great plan if they weren't being chased by a squad of stormtroopers.

What really got him though, was the fact that based on some of the things he could overhear, some of them thought that Winter was the Princess. Given the resemblance they had to one another that wasn't completely surprising but still, even in these circumstance he couldn't help but find that amusing.

Up ahead a pair of blast doors began to close. Biggs looked to Winter and the pair of them charged forward, this was their best bet to get out and clear. Behind them the stormtroopers began opening fire again but the shots went wild. In an effort to hold them back long enough, both Winter and Biggs returned fire while running as well.

Winter got through the door first, followed by Biggs next, diving through just as the door pressed shut. He landed hard on his knees but quickly pulled himself up to a sitting position, resting for just a moment against the blast doors that separated them from the stormtroopers.

"Come on," Winter said, holding her hand out to him. "It won't take long for them to get those doors open again. We need to use this time to find our way to the docking bay."

"Right," Biggs nodded and took her hand. The moment he stood she broke into a run, leaving him to catch up to her.

In spite of the situation, Biggs smiled at her. Over the course of the last few days they'd been constant companions and barely had time to talk or get to know one another, yet as he ran alongside her, he realized just how close he felt to her. When this was over he really wanted to spend some actual, sit down get to know each other time with her.

Then his thoughts clouded when he remembered Luke was still aboard.

"Think about your friend later," Winter said, as if reading his thoughts. "At the very least you got through to him. Hopefully we can send a message to him once we're out and he can get free."

"I…" Biggs' first response was to tell her how unlikely that was considering he was now in the heart of the Empire. But when he looked at her normally demure face and saw actual concern, he smiled and nodded. There was always hope.

Which was exactly when the rounded the corner and came upon another patrol.

The pair dashed down the hall, both noticing markers indicating they were nearing the docking bay. With increased speed they barreled down the hallway and charged through an open door… and nearly plummeted to their deaths. Beyond the door the hallway ended and a chasm stretched out to swallow them.

The stormtroopers behind them opened fire and Winter jammed the door controls. That of course still left them tip toeing on a ledge. Winter tugged on his sleeve and motioned at the controls.

"There's no lock!" she announced.

Biggs nodded grimly and aimed his blaster at the controls, hoping to fry them on both sides. However, before he could, Winter took his blaster and aimed it away.

"That's also the controls to extend the bridge," she said, hitting the switch. "Think before you blast Darklighter."

The bridge began extending just as the door behind them hissed open. Biggs jammed door switch again, shutting it before the stormtroopers could get through, only to have it start snapping open yet again. Knowing it was only a matter of time before the stormtroopers got through, Biggs ignored Winter's admonition and blasted the controls.

The door remained shut, but the bridge was just shy of three quarters of the way across. Winter sighed and shook her head.

"What now?"

Behind them the door hissed a bit, the stormtroopers were already at work overriding the system. Biggs pried open the panel, intent on finding some way to override the bridge controls but blaster bolts rained from above as stormtroopers on an opposite and higher entryway had found them.

Winter returned fire as Biggs fiddled with melted wires and fried circuitry. He found a pair that he thought would do it but instead inched the door behind them open a bit more. Finally Winter grabbed his shirt and huddled them in the corner of the door's alcove as best they could.

"We're going to have to jump it," she said. "What I wouldn't give for a grappling hook and a fibercord right now."

Biggs stared down the bridge. They could get a running start but even then, the actual jump was a long way off. And they'd have to do it while getting shot at. He didn't like those odds one bit. But the door behind them had inched up enough that the stormtroopers could duck down through if they wanted to. They had no choice.

That in mind, and still huddled in the corner, Biggs leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Winter's lips.

"For luck," he said.

Her somewhat scandalized look quickly faded to determination and the pair spread out over the doorway, firing at the stormtroopers above for cover before breaking out into a sprint. Biggs reached the edge first and forced himself not to look at Winter or at the chasm below but instead just leap forward with everything he had.

The ledge hit him square in the chest but he made it, slapping his hands on the metallic floor and groping the threshold of the entryway for support. Winter came a second later, landing beside him and similarly struggling to pull herself up. Somehow she found purchase and lifted her body, then a leg over before flopping onto the solid floor and helping him up.

"I can't… I can't believe that worked!" Biggs huffed as they started down the hall.

"I never doubted it," Winter smiled.

"Must have been the good luck kiss," Biggs said.

"No, I used to do distance jumping in the Academy."

* * *

Even Boba Fett knew better than to take on a massive room filled with stormtroopers. Sure, given the right amount of planning and firepower he could probably have taken them all, but in the current situation he found the best strategy was to run.

The entire way he cursed himself for taking the job. If it wasn't for the ultimate pay out he knew lay in store for him at the end he would have put a blaster bolt into the Princess a long time ago. Hang the Rebellion and hang the Empire, her constant snark and attitude were almost too much for even him to bear.

Still, a job was a job and if he chose never to work again after this one was done, he easily could. With the payout he was offered he could buy Mandalore itself. Hell, he could buy the next few neighboring systems if he really wanted to.

All he had to do was see it through to the end. Incessantly whining princess or not.

After giving the stormtroopers the slip, Fett keyed up the comlink in his helmet, ready to find out where the hell she was and whether or not he needed to personally find them a ship to escape in. With that in mind, it was only with great annoyance when the voice that came over the other end wasn't the princess, but instead her obnoxious droid.

"Hello? I say hello? Is anyone there?"

"What do you want droid?" Fett growled. "Are you with the princess?"

"I'm afraid not sir," the droid said. "R2 and I are still stuck in maintenance! Though we did get a message from the princess to meet them at Docking bay 327."

"Then get off this line and get over there," Fett said. "I have better things to do."

"No! Wait! Please don't end the transmission! You don't understand! We can't leave, when the general alert came on they sent a pair of stormtroopers down here! They won't let us leave!"

Fett pursed his lips. The princess wouldn't leave unless they had the Death Star plans and those two droids were their only reliable way of getting them. He thought about telling the droid to deal with it himself but he knew that would probably get the di'kulta droid blasted. After a couple of moments to consider other options, Fett sighed and told the droid to sit tight until he got there.

Along the way, Fett stayed clear of the patrols. With each passing one he got the sense that more and more havoc was being raised across the station. Whatever the princess and her friends were up to, they practically had half the station clamoring after them. He could only hope he'd reach them in time to keep them from getting their heads blown off.

Finally he reached the droid maintenance bay. Giving his blaster a quick once over he took a breath and got ready to blast the unfortunate pair of stormtroopers that had been stationed there to guard the droids. Poor guys just drew the short straws that day so Fett would do his best to make it quick.

The door slid open and Fett froze where he stood.

Instead of seeing a pair of confused stormtroopers scrambling for their weapons, he was greeted with the sight of blood covered walls and four corpses laying on the ground with multiple stab wounds, lacerations, and plasma burns. One of the stormtroopers still had the plasma torch embedded in his face and he actually looked like one of the lucky ones.

On the far side of the room the R2 unit sat in pieces, disassembled by the Empire no doubt. However, Fett's eyes soon zeroed in on the shiny golden droid, standing next to the astromech, hands covered in blood.

"What. the. kriff. happened. here?" Fett said.

"Oh no! It was awful!" C-3PO said. "They decided they wanted to wipe Artoo's memory core and then one accidentally fell on the plasma torch while the others tripped into the screwdriver!"

For half a second, Fett actually tried to imagine events happening as the droid said but only an idiot would believe it. However, if they weren't freak accidents, then that really only left one possibility, one that made him almost wish it had been an accident. Slowly he drew his blaster up on the droid.

"How did you do this…why did you do this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the droid said. "Declaration: I'm an interpreter, not a mass murderer!"

"…HK-47?"

The lights of C-3PO's photoreceptors blinked out a couple of times before coming back on only with an eerie red hue. The droid shuffled forward, shaking his hands slightly to remove some of the blood. Fett nearly pulled the trigger right there.

"Statement: You are correct Mandalorian," the droid said in HK-47's voice. "I am indeed responsible."

"Why? And how did you get… is the Princess's droid even there anymore?"

"Statement: C-3PO's memory and personality have indeed survived my… tagging along. He is fluent in over six million forms of communications, or at least he was until I deleted four million of them and inserted myself shortly before you awoke on G0-T0's yacht."

"Again… why?"

"Explanation: I knew that G0-T0 would likely still have access to my systems even after I rebooted my programming. Thus I copied myself onto your protocol droid should I be double crossed and destroyed by the fat droid."

Fett glanced around the room, particularly the computer.

"If you're programming can jump from mainframe to mainframe… why are you still in that protocol droid and-"

"Query: And not in the Death Star's main computer?" the droid said. "Explanation: While the idea of becoming the most powerful superweapon in the Galaxy and thus gaining the ability to obliterate billions of meatbags at once is not without merit or appeal, I find that such mass slaughter to be ultimately unfulfilling. I was programmed for assassination, killing in such a way that it's personal and intimate. No, I will be fine in a droid body. Besides, that's really an IG series droid idea wouldn't you say?"

Boba shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around such a thing. Sure he killed all the time, but he didn't take psychotic joy out of it. It didn't make sense for sentient beings and it sure as hell didn't make sense coming out of the mouth of a protocol droid.

"Let's cut to it then," Fett said, keeping his blaster aimed at the droid. "If this is some sort of grand scheme of yours… why am I here to see your handy work? Why reveal yourself?"

"Statement: While I am free of G0-T0's control, a number of his directives still infect my base code. Included in this is the desire to preserve the Republic," the droid said. "However, unlike G0-T0 I recognize that the best way to do that is to support the Rebel Alliance. Therefore I must to neutralize threats to its wellbeing."

"That doesn't explain a thing. I'm working with the Rebellion."

"Query: Are you?" the droid began to pace, his crimson eyes flickering with each syllable. "Extrapolation: Imagine you are the most feared bounty hunter in the known Galaxy. Imagine that you receive close to ninety percent of your contracts from not just the Galactic Empire but from Darth Vader himself! What would then, be the result of not only taking a contract from the Rebellion, but a contract that involved springing one of its key leaders from Darth Vader's clutches? What would you stand to gain by sticking by the side of said leader even after it became obvious that the payout for such a job might never materialize and would surely cost you more than it was worth? You would become an enemy of the Empire and on the personal kill list of the most dangerous man in the Galaxy. Conclusion: You are not working for the Rebellion. You are working for Darth Vader, no doubt trying to get the Princess to reveal the location of the Rebellion's hidden base."

Fett's finger curled around the trigger and his eyes narrowed at the droid. Under his breath he cursed his luck.

"You realize that now that you've figured it out," Fett said. "I'm going to destroy you."

"Statement: On the contrary, you're going to do what you were hired to do and aide the Rebellion," the droid said. "And you're going to start by helping me reassemble the R2 unit."

"How do you figure that?" Fett advanced a step closer. "What could you possibly say to me that will convince me not to blast you into slag right here and right now?"

"Sintas Vel."

Without realizing it, Fett lowered his blaster. Of all the things the droid could have said. Promise of wealth, luxury, or glory, none of those would have had any effect. But the name of his ex-wife had Fett listening whether he wanted to or not.

"Sin? What about her?" Fett said.

"Statement: G0-T0 has her. Or rather, he has conned a crimelord into capturing her for him, she's currently in a slab of carbonite awaiting you to ransom her," the droid said. "This was planned to have happened next year but G0-T0 accelerated his plans for reasons unknown to me."

"Why take her? What's she got to do with any of this or with G0-T0's damn collection?" Fett said.

"Statement: Oh it has nothing to do with her. It is all about you," the droid said, approaching the R2 and ensuring it's systems remained turned off. "Explanation: G0-T0 studied targets for years and laid subtle groundwork for their eventual capture well ahead in advance, so that when it came time, the target was drawn in and never heard from again. Sintas Vel was to be a trap set for you."

"Where is she?" Fett raised his blaster.

"Dismissal: You cannot threaten me with destruction if you intend to learn her location. She is safe for now, and will remain safe for the next year. A year you will spend in service of the Rebellion to earn her freedom."

"You can't do this to me!"

"Correction: Oh but I can. Meatbags are predictable creatures you see. You just need to know what drives them in order to control them," the droid said before nearing Fett himself. "Addendum: However I can tell that with you I will need to… sweeten the deal as they say. Therefore I present this to you."

The droid opened up a nearby draw and pulled out a lightsaber. Fett first questioned how he got it but realized it would have been easy. Nobody paid attention to droids after all. Upon closer inspection, Fett realized just exactly whose lightsaber it was. He'd memorized it from the time he was a child.

"Mace Windu's weapon," he said.

"Correct," the droid's eyes flickered crimson. "Query: Wouldn't you like to drive it through his still beating heart?"

* * *

"I believe we've lost them," Bail said as he and Leia peeked around a corner.

"I can't believe we don't have stormtroopers marching down every hallway," Leia said. "This place seems far too disorganized."

"Imperial arrogance," Bail said as they began to advance. "They consider this place to be the ultimate fortress so they barely contemplate the idea of it being attacked, especially from within. Half the soldiers here probably think this is some sort of drill."

Leia nodded and followed after him. As much as she worried about getting to Captain Solo's ship, she was at least grateful to not have been separated from her father yet again. Especially considering… no, she couldn't allow herself to think on Alderaan's destruction at the moment.

"So tell me about this Captain Solo," Bail said. "Apparently you're… acquainted."

"That's probably the best word actually," Leia said. "He helped me out of a jam on Tatooine and we shared a brief conversation together. It was only afterward that I found out that he had been chartered to fly an Imperial assassin, along with Artoo and Biggs' friend to the hands of the Empire."

"Biggs friend Luke," Bail slowed his steps slightly. "How did he get mixed up in all of this?"

Leia explained what few details they had to her father, noting the heavy lines forming on his brow. That the Empire would recruit a farmboy was strange but she couldn't fathom why it seemed so concerning to him. Eventually she would ask him about that, but for now she had other questions that weighed on her mind even more.

"How… how did you get here?" she said, already suspecting the answer.

"Darth Vader captured me shortly after we received the 'news' that your ship had been destroyed by asteroids," Bail said. "He and Tarkin attempted to… coerce me into reveal the location of the Alliance's base."

"Did they…" Leia folded her lips together as she thought on the Empire's interrogation techniques. "Are you…"

"Let's not speak of it," Bail said. "At least right now. They didn't gain access from me. Though what happened to our home was a result of their attempts. Tarkin intended to destroy Alderaan all along but he tried to get me to reveal the location to stay his hand."

"I'm so sorry."

"No," Bail stopped and gripped her shoulders. "I am sorry for what you had to endure. You've had to go through hardships on this mission that I never wanted for you."

"I haven't even had time to tell you about what happened to me," Leia said.

"You don't have to tell me," Bail said. "I'm your father. I can see it in your eyes. Your mission has changed you. Why else would you have a lightsaber now?"

Leia's eyes shot to the cylinder clipped to the belt she'd taken from a stormtrooper. It was far better than relying on the makeshift straps under her sleeve. She hadn't even considered what her father might think of the Jedi weapon or what knowledge it implied that she had with it in her possession.

"Obi-wan has convinced you to undertake Jedi training then?" he continued their path.

"I… I don't know," Leia said. "He wants me to but I haven't made up my mind."

"Obi-wan is a good man," Bail said. "And if it is what you want then I will support you in it. Just try to be careful, the Empire will seek after you more than ever if they learn that you are training to be a Jedi."

With almost a sigh of relief, Leia nodded. She still didn't know what she wanted to do but it somehow made her feel better, knowing that she had his blessing should she choose to go forward with the training. All the more surprising to her given the fact that she knew he was never entirely comfortable with her level of involvement in the Rebellion. He would much rather she stayed strictly on the political side of it.

"We will defeat the Empire father," Leia said. "With General Kenobi working with us we'll be able to ensure that those who died on Alderaan did not do so in vain."

"So he _is_ Kenobi," a woman's voice came from behind them.

Leia and Bail spun around to find the red headed assassin standing there with a blaster pistol aimed at them. Though she looked disheveled and a bit ragged, she still had something of a smirk on her face after getting the drop on them.

"Imperial Intelligence will be most interested in learning how you found him the way you did," she said. "Drop your weapons. Governor Tarkin will be most pleased to have the two of you back in custody."

* * *

The more havoc wrought upon the station, the more he knew only Obi-wan could be responsible. Tarkin doubted of course. It had been so long since anyone had seen a Jedi that they had all forgotten what one could accomplish when given free reign. If left unchecked, Obi-wan could probably level the entire station by himself.

But that would not happen. Instead his old master would perish.

Darth Vader advanced forward, letting the feeling of Obi-wan's presence wash over him. Once again his instincts had served him correctly. He had considered chasing him down the station, following disaster to disaster but ultimately that would have accomplished little.

Instead he reached out with his feelings and let the Force guide him to this location. The place that would mark their final confrontation, one that he had yearned for, for nearly twenty years. The Emperor had sought in the early days to dissuade Vader from his obsession with pursuing his master but like so many things Vader went down his own path.

It led him to Obi-wan's birth world Stewjon, where he confronted Obi-wan's brother Owen. It led him Mandalore and a battle with Bo Katan, the sister of Kenobi's dear friend Satine. And it led him into a trap on Kessel where surviving Jedi attempted to assassinate him. After years of searching, Vader reluctantly conceded, at least out loud, that Kenobi had passed on. Yet in his heart he always knew they would meet again. And now his path had led him here.

He would never have guessed he would meet his old master in a docking bay in front of a battered Corellian light freighter on the Empire's ultimate weapon. Perhaps it was fitting that it would be so. A duel to the death on the symbol of the New Order with a reminder of the old times sitting only a few meters away.

The optics in his suit targeted the man before him though Vader did not need them to know that the hooded figure just on the opposite end of the room was Obi-wan. He could feel his presence, even shrouded in a bit of shadow and half his face covered, Vader knew it was him.

"I have been waiting for you Obi-wan, we meet again at last," Vader said as he strode over to his former friend and brother. "The circle is now complete, when we last met, I was but the learner now I am-"

The words caught in his throat as Obi-wan lowered his hood. Instead of seeing the wizened face of a man almost twice his age… he saw a man who had not aged a day. Obi-wan stood there looking exactly as he had the last time they had met. Straight shouldered, light brown hair and beard, and a thoroughly disappointed look upon his face. For a moment Vader suspected it to be a trick, a hologram, or some wizardry with the Force, but he sensed none of that. His eyes did not deceive him. Obi-wan had returned as though the last nineteen years had never happened.

"This is impossible," Vader muttered.

"As I taught you a long time ago my very old padawan," Obi-wan said as he dropped his robe altogether and ignited his blade, holding it out behind him in an attack position. "With the Force, only nothing is impossible."


	17. The Master and the Learner

With the alarms blaring both in his helmet and outside on the PA system, Cody finally called it quits and removed the helmet altogether. Safely tucking it under his arm, he continued along the Death Star corridors with Vader's young… project alongside.

At the very least the kid could keep up, which _if_ he really was Skywalker's son, then he would expect no less. Otherwise, Cody would have already left him to fend for himself.

Not that he'd be in any danger. Even with all the apparent mayhem running amok across the station, Cody knew that the inept jokes that called themselves stormtroopers needed someone that knew the difference between a blast door and an airlock. If Kenobi wasn't on the station, he'd be right there with them, telling them how to turn the safeties off their blasters.

Which wasn't to say he'd checked out of the situation on the station altogether. He made numerous stops to get updates from passing squads, and he made certain to needle the kid for details. He hadn't learned much, only that Princess Leia Organa was here, working with the rebels, and Obi-wan Kenobi was supposedly on the station as well.

Which was good enough for Cody at this moment. He'd always known Kenobi escaped him on Utupau. He'd suspected it after he blasted Kenobi off the rock face and confirmed it when he found General Grievous' ship stolen. He'd even gone to the Jedi Temple after operation Knightfall and found clear evidence that Jedi had been there _after_ the carnage. If he'd had his way he would have hunted down Kenobi's trail but the newly minted Emperor had far too much for his grand army to do.

"Can I ask you a question?" the kid said, bringing Cody from his recollections.

"You just did," Cody said.

"You served in the Clone Wars right?" the kid said, ignoring the sarcasm.

"Yeah," Cody said. "I would think that was obvious."

"Did you know any Jedi then?"

"I knew a lot of Jedi," Cody said. "They served as generals in the war."

"And you knew Anakin Skywalker right?" the kid said. "I saw the way you reacted when I brought him up earlier."

"Yeah, I knew Skywalker. He's really your old man?"

"According to a blood test someone from the Empire took," he said. "Can you tell me what he was like?"

"Skywalker was one of the best damn pilots I'd ever met," Cody said trying but failing to not get a bit nostalgic. "You could put him in front of the controls of a garbage scow and he'd fly circles around a vulture droid. We trusted him, we trusted the Jedi. Those were the good times, back when every soldier at my back was my brother and the Jedi Generals actually thought of us as something other than cannon fodder. Back when we understood the word 'standards'; back before the conscripts came."

Cody blinked and glanced over at the kid, who wore a slightly perplexed expression. Deep inside, Cody kicked himself for getting sentimental. The war was every bit as terrible as this one, and it was only the longing for his brothers that made him look back fondly at it.

But dammit if he couldn't stop thinking about it. It seemed with every new corridor they came to he remembered more of his time with his brothers, of serving under Kenobi and how much better it all seemed.

"So… do you know how Anakin died?"

"No one knows how Skywalker died," Cody shrugged. "Hell, I thought you might have known seeming how you're supposed to be his kid."

"I'd heard that Obi-wan Kenobi killed him…"

Cody glanced over at the kid, trying to decide if he was being baited for some kind of trick or something. He frowned and almost let the comment go, but they were on their way, looking for Kenobi so in the end he couldn't ignore it.

"I knew Kenobi probably better than any clone in the galaxy," Cody said. "And I knew this about him, Skywalker was his best friend, they were like brothers."

"So you don't think Obi-wan killed him?"

"Can't say. If any Jedi was to stay loyal to the Emperor, it was Skywalker, they were close. If Skywalker stayed loyal, and I don't know if he did or not, then Kenobi might have offed him."

"Even though they were best friends?"

"War forces us to make tough calls kid," Cody said. "If either of them thought the other one a traitor, it could have happened. Kenobi killed his share of clones in the end."

Yeah, Kenobi had escaped. And if Cody was really honest with himself, a lot of the fond memories he had from back in the day involved serving under Kenobi. But he'd been given an order and Commander Cody never disobeyed orders. Even if it took him twenty years. Just as he'd seen countless of his brethren die to fulfill orders for an Empire that was all too eager to discard them just like it did the Jedi. Just like it did Kenobi…

"What makes you think we're heading the right way?" the kid said.

"With all this mayhem going on," Cody said. "Your friends must be headed for the hangers. Good bet that we'll find Kenobi there too."

"What will happen then?" he said.

"I follow orders."

* * *

"This… this is a trick," Vader said, blinking behind his mask, for a moment wondering if the optical sensors were malfunctioning. Yet Obi-wan stood there looking exactly as he had on that fateful day on Mustafar.

"It's no trick I assure you," Obi-wan said.

"But you haven't aged a day," Vader said, feeling his mechanical hands gripping his lightsaber a bit tighter. "You haven't changed a bit."

"But you have," Obi-wan shook his head ruefully, his brows knit together in a mix of pity and anger. "Anakin, look what you've allowed them to do to you. You had the strongest connection to the Force of anyone I've ever known. Through the light side, you could have healed yourself long ago. Instead you've let them take everything that you were, everything that you could be and warp it into this horrifying shell. A mockery of your true self, more machine than man, twisted and evil."

A rush of thoughts and emotions rushed through Vader as his old master spoke. A surprising shock at being called Anakin. No one had done that in nearly twenty years. The flush of memories of seeing his master preaching to him about the Jedi way, warning against the dark side. But above all of this there was… anger.

"You did this to me!" Vader seethed. "You left me to burn on Mustafar even as you claimed we were brothers!"

"We _were_ brothers," Obi-wan said. "I taught you that every Jedi was your brother or sister. I taught you that the light led to peace and freedom. I taught you that impatience and unbridled passion led to destruction and slavery. You turned your back on those teachings and on every single one of your brothers and sisters. Now, you are a slave to the Emperor and I stand before you with one final lesson to teach."

"No Obi-wan," Vader flung himself at the Jedi. "I am no longer the learner, now I am the Master."

Obi-wan met his strike with ease and countered, only to be blocked. "Only a master of evil Anakin!"

In spite of his desire to retort, Vader responded only by further strikes at his former master. The first few attacks came merely as taps and jabs, each parried and a few measured counter attacks back. It had been twenty years since they'd crossed blades and it appeared that both intended on testing the other.

Then Vader struck faster and harder, still measuring his opponent but actually working at more than simple preliminaries. He was not disappointed. Each blow touched only Obi-wan's blade as the Jedi Master worked his lightsaber in tight circles. Classic soresu, Obi-wan's favored form.

Only then did Vader know in his heart that it was indeed Obi-wan he faced. Vader had killed many Jedi. He'd killed many that used the soresu saber form. But none used it like Obi-wan. To him, the fourth form was an art. And then the battle truly began.

Vader drove his blade at the Jedi, knowing full well the weakness of Obi-wan's technique. It relied on defense in an attempt to wear the opponent down and then strike. To this, Obi-wan would soon find that Darth Vader virtually had no limits of endurance. His cybernetics allowed for constant strength and the Force constantly replenished his physical form.

Some devilry had kept Obi-wan young but it would not save him this day.

* * *

"Now slide them slowly over to me," the assassin said.

The Organa's did as they were told, both gently lowering their blasters and pushing them just enough that they clattered across the polished Death Star floors, nearly to her feet. Wisely, the assassin didn't bother picking them up. Apparently she knew better than to lower her eyes when facing two opponents.

Instead she just stepped past the weapons, easily placing herself between them and their owners. Leia still held onto a faint hope, at least she did, until the assassin's eyes fell onto the lightsaber clipped to her belt.

"Didn't think I'd recognize a laser sword when I saw one?" she said. "You'll toss it to me. If it doesn't land perfectly in my hand I'll shoot your father."

Leia glanced at Bail for a moment before unclipping the lightsaber and hefting it carefully into the air. The assassin caught it with ease and clipped it to her belt. All without taking her eyes off of her captives.

"The Emperor originally sent me to kill you Princess," she said. "Who would have thought that after all our merry chases in the desert I would find you here, in the heart of the Empire."

"Where's the guy?" Leia said. "Luke?"

"He's safe enough," the assassin said though there was a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "And he's the only reason you're still alive. But we'll have plenty of time to talk about that on our way to Coruscant. We will be very interested to know how you found a Jedi and what his connection to Skywalker is."

"He's Obi-wan Kenobi," Leia said. "Even if you kill us he will defeat the Empire."

"I really don't have time for this," came the reply. "Though I do want to know who that Jedi _actually_ is. He's too young to be Kenobi."

"What does she mean by that?" Bail said.

"Not now Father," Leia said, trying desperately to figure out how to get out of this.

"My my," the assassin said. "It looks like there is quite the story there. I can't wait to hear all about it. In the meantime we need to make our departure. I doubt Captain Solo has had time to get here this quick, he doesn't access to the mainframe like I do. So we have just enough time to get aboard his ship and leave him high and dry here. Now move."

For a moment, Leia nor Bail budged, but after a couple of gestures from the assassin's pistol they slowly about faced and began making their way down the hall. With each step, Leia tried to find some place she and her father could quickly dart into. An alcove, a doorway, anything that might give them some sort of opportunity of escape.

None came and soon enough they neared the hanger bay. Once they were in Captain Solo's ship the assassin could do whatever she wanted with them and set some sort of trap for Solo when he arrived. All they needed was some sort of distraction!

The hanger acccess came into view and Leia began slowing her steps, hoping to get closer to the assassin. But she maintained her distance. They were coming to a corner and Leia slowed down even more, practically taking baby steps. Finally the assassin let out a sigh and Leia felt hard metal push into her back.

"I'll kill you with your own lightsaber…" she said. "… if you don't start moving. I would prefer to present you, your father, and Skywalker to my Master, but he will understand perfectly if you don't make the journey."

"Leia," Bail said. "Just do what you're told for now. We'll figure something out."

"See, your father makes sense now mo-"

The assassin never finished the sentence. Leia, Bail, and herself had been on the cusp of passing a corner and things might have turned out differently if Leia had been walking at a normal pace. As it was though, they were all standing together with no distinction to onlookers as to who hostages and who the captor was.

Which was why when a squad of stormtroopers came around that corner, they took one look at them and opened fire indiscriminately, thinking all three of them were rebel escapees. Leia managed to hear the assassin curse as she dove for cover. The assassin shouted at the stormtroopers that she was on their side but they kept firing, forcing her to block their attacks with her lightsaber.

So occupied were they with the highest potential threat, they scarcely noticed as Bail took Leia by the hand and rushed past them. A couple broke into pursuit but the bulk of the pack stayed on the assassin. Deep down Leia thanked the Force for exactly what they needed, even as she knew that at best, they'd just been bought a couple of minutes before the assassin, along with any surviving stormtroopers nipped at their heels.

* * *

Darth Vader surprised him. Obi-wan knew all of Anakin's tricks. Over countless sparring matches and numberless combat lessons they came to know each other's fighting styles as well as their own. It was part of what made their duel on Mustafar so violent. The each essentially knew what the other would do in the fight.

But this was different. More aggressive, more powerful, and not employing a single form Obi-wan was familiar with. At first he was content with following the flow of the duel, measuring Vader as if he were a completely knew opponent. But the longer the battle went, the smaller the window might grow for Leia and the others to affect their escape.

Vader's crimson blade crossed his and Obi-wan reminded himself in a single inhale that he needed to exercise patience and then exhaled the thoughts of needing to draw out mistakes in his opponent.

Their lightsabers crashed and Vader drove Obi-wan back, outside of the small alcove and into the larger hanger itself. The Jedi retreated, feeling the force of Vader's blow, his now near overwhelming strength, radiating through his lightsaber blade. The Sith Lord advanced more and more, edging Obi-wan ever closer to the edge of the TIE fighter launch port, located just in front of the freighter.

Their blades locked and now Obi-wan felt that full strength bearing down on him. His boots squeaked and scuffed on the floor as Vader inched him closer to the edge. Obi-wan locked onto his blade harder and dug his feet in, determined not to give anymore ground.

"I do not care how you have managed to come to me as you do my old master," Vader's voice came out in a hiss. "This is the end for you."

"Funny," Obi-wan grit his teeth. "You've said that to me before. I'm still here and I don't believe it turned out particularly well for you."

Vader let out something resembling a growl and shoved harder against Obi-wan. Their blades crackled and screeched against each other. Even without the Force, Obi-wan might have felt the hate and rage rolling off of his former apprentice. Yet his feet also gave ground, his heels nearly to the edge of the precipice. He needed to change the dynamic of the battle and tip it to his favor.

Giving one final push against the Dark Lord, Obi-wan called on the Force and shot backwards. His body soared through the air, high above the pit Vader had tried to shunt him down. When his feet touched down he landed on atop the corellian light freighter. Standing there with his blade still drawn, he stared down at the sith lord.

"Indeed your powers have grown," Obi-wan said. "But so too have your arrogance and short sightedness. I shall defeat you Anakin."

"That name no longer means anything to me," Vader said, pacing around the pit. "And you have not changed one bit in the twenty years since we last fought, while I have learned from my experience."

"Feel free to come up and prove that to me then," Obi-wan said.

"No."

The nearby crunching of metal served as the only warning for Obi-wan when the transmitter dish from the freighter broke away and flew at him from behind. The Jedi tried to dodge but it came too sudden, knocking into his back and hurtling him right at the pit.

* * *

They could hear the stormtroopers getting closer, but they were almost there! They just had to hope that the others would be at the hanger bay as well. They'd attempted several times to make contact with the Princess and her father, as well as Boba Fett but to no avail. All they had at this point was hope.

"You know…" Winter said. "Fett wasn't there when Captain Solo contacted us. He has no idea that we're supposed to rendezvous at his ship."

"You're acting as though taking off without Fett would be a terrible thing," Biggs said.

"Come on Darklighter," Winter said. "I think we owe him a little more than that."

"Don't tell me that you trust him," Biggs glanced her way.

"Not remotely," Winter said. "But he has been instrumental in our… 'success' we, at the very least, owe him a ticket off of this place, rather than face the wrath of the Empire."

"Heh, who would have pegged you as a bleeding heart," Biggs said.

"Oh do shut up," Winter rolled her eyes as they turned a corner. Yet a flurry of movement stopped them in their tracks and for a half second their weapons came out and they prepared to shoot. However just as quickly they realized that rather than running into a new group of stormtroopers, they'd wound up nearly crashing into Leia and her father.

"What took you guys so long?" Biggs grinned as Leia and Winter embraced.

"We ran into some old friends," Leia said.

"And unless we want to run into them again," Bail said. "We had better get moving."

Biggs nodded and followed the group into an entryway to the hanger. Then a rustle of footsteps came up behind them and again the weapons came out. This time it was Captain Solo. He immediately held his hands up in the air until their weapons lowered, though Biggs did feel tempted to keep his drawn on the smuggler. The man did help the assassin get away with Luke after all.

Still, he was there ticket out of there so in the end he really didn't have any choice.

"Glad you could make it sweetheart," Solo said, his eyes locking onto Leia immediately.

"Wouldn't miss it," Leia responded, the corner of her mouth curling up just a bit.

"Gotta say though," Solo replied. "We can't keep meeting like this, people will talk."

"Excuse me," Bail cut in. "But I think we'll have time for pleasantries once we get off this station."

"And you are?" Solo said.

"Bail Organa, Leia's father."

Biggs might have laughed at the way the smuggler's expression wilted from a cocksure smirk to something far more sheepish. Like the guy who brought his date home an hour too late. Instead a thunderous crash from inside the hanger drew their attention and they ran into to see Obi-wan flying through the air and nearly falling into the launch pit.

They started rushing forward but froze when they saw none other than Darth Vader marching around the pit. A moment later, Obi-wan reappeared, jumping out of the pit and reigniting his lightsaber. Vader quickly met him and the two proceeded to duel their way into a small alcove just off to the side.

Enthralled by the display, Biggs, Leia, and the others ran into the hanger itself, halting just in front of the pit to see the two warriors continue their battle.

* * *

"Where are we going?" the kid said. "It says that the hangers are the other way."

"We're still going to the hangers kid," Cody approached a nearby doorway. "But I like to scope out an area first. Who knows if the rebels have gotten there already. Blundering in without having any idea what might greet us is a good way to get ourselves vaporized."

Of course he had no doubt that, that was exactly what the sorry excuses for soldiers on this station would likely do but as of right now he wasn't shackled to any of them and it felt glorious. No, it felt right. If only he had Rex or Fives with him. Then it would… no. He couldn't think like that.

"This will take us through a corridor to the control room," Cody said. "From there we can get a look at the hanger itself and see if this is the one the rebels are at. But it's a solid bet that it's this one."

"Why?"

"Imperial Shuttles will have a lockdown right now," Cody said as he punched in his access code. "I'd heard we'd taken on a freighter of some kind. Smart creds is on that one."

"Freighter, you mean the _Falcon_?" the kid said.

"No idea," Cody shrugged as the door slid open. "Just that this was the hanger it was docked at. Good enough place to…"

The words trailed out of his mouth as the sound of clashing lightsabers reached his ears. Without a second thought he rushed toward it. He hadn't heard that sound in years, but here and now, it could only mean one thing. Lord Vader and Kenobi had found each other.

They came to the entrance of the alcove, just in time to see a Jedi flip over Vader and engage in a series of strikes. They dueled at the entrance of the alcove which led to the hanger. Cody and the kid now approached from behind, mere meters from the actual combat.

His better judgment told him to tell the kid to scram, but Cody couldn't make his feet work, let alone his mouth. He just stared at Kenobi. Stared as the Jedi clashed his saber against the Dark Lords, his eyes kept telling him one thing but his mind something else altogether.

"He hasn't changed," Cody finally managed.

"Who?" the kid said. "Is that Kenobi fighting Lord Vader?"

"Th… that's him alright," Cody said, even more memories flooding back. "That's General Kenobi."

* * *

Obi-wan cursed himself as he blocked a new attack from Vader. His former apprentice even now fought aggressively and fiercely but he'd had twenty years of experience. It appeared that in that time he learned not to fall for the same trick twice. Not considering that nearly cost Obi-wan his life.

He'd only barely clung to the edge of the pit and then propelled himself up with the Force after the transmitter dish hit him. The pain from the impact still beat against his muscles and bones but Obi-wan shut it out. Focusing on pain would be just as lethal as simply shutting off his lightsaber right now.

The anger and hate that rolled off of Vader now mingled with satisfaction and the thrill of perceived victory. He enjoyed seeing Obi-wan taken down like that and he had a right to. Perhaps, it seemed, that it was Obi-wan that took things for granted at this point.

Now realizing his mistake, Obi-wan threw himself a step backward and took in a deep breath, recommitting himself to the battle and to his connection with the Force. He felt Anakin's energy of course, but he also felt Leia and several others near… Including a familiar presence that he couldn't quite place.

"Now you see," Vader said. "Now you see the power of the Dark Side!"

"No Anakin, when I look on you, I see a frightened boy," Obi-wan said, letting the peace from the Force flow into him. "A child desperately clinging to a poison as though it were a comforting object, all because it makes you feel like you have power and control. But it is an illusion, you truly are lost. And your inability to let go caused you to turn your back on me, the Order, even on Padme."

"No!" Vader hissed and came at Obi-wan with all the fury of a dark lord.

Even as the attack came, Obi-wan half shut his eyes, knowing what was to come next. He could not say he was at peace, but he could say he knew what he would do and what the result would be.

Opening himself up to the Force, Obi-wan's blade moved swiftly and deftly. He now realized what it was about Vader's fighting that had thrown him off. In the twenty years since they'd last fought, Vader had developed his own fighting style. But the longer their duel went, the more the dark lord had been slipping into classic djem so, Anakin's preferred fighting method.

A style ill suited for Vader's slower movements.

In a whirl of blue energy, Obi-wan's saber met Vader's again and again. The dark lord came with arching blows and sweeping slashes but Obi-wan kept moving his lightsaber in quick parries and blocks, slowly picking up speed to the point that he started advancing on his opponent.

And then Obi-wan was on the offensive, a swift jab here, a quick strike there. None aimed to kill but each putting Vader on the defensive. The Sith Lord's mechanical limbs barely kept pace, driving him back with each strike. Obi-wan could feel his former padawan's anger give way to frustration, then just the barest hints of doubt. He would not be able to maintain this pace.

Finally Vader struck, his frustration, anger, and even fear reached a boiling point, as he crashed his saber down at Obi-wan in a two handed finishing blow. A classic djem so move, one that Obi-wan knew all too well. The Jedi let out a final breath as he slid to the side. His lightsaber glanced off of Vader's before continuing upward and searing the sith's mechanical hand off. Even as it dropped to the floor, Vader struck out his other hand, intending to blast Obi-wan back, but Obi-wan rolled out of the way and struck out his foot, sending the Sith crashing onto his back.

Vader wheezed and tried to get up, only to have Obi-wan point his blade at his throat. The Jedi now stood over him, ready to deliver the final blow, the one he should have done years ago when he thought the fire had done it for him.

"It's over Anakin," Obi-wan said. "At long last, it's over."

Then a cry issued out, but not from Vader. Not from anyone Obi-wan knew. It came directly in front of him even as the sound of a lightsaber cut through it. The green blade flashed and knocked Obi-wan's blade back. The Jedi retreated, blocking a somewhat clumsy but determined blow until he stood face to face with a sandy haired youth brandishing a green lightsaber.

"What in space?" Obi-wan muttered as he stared into the youth's blue eyes.

"Luke!" he heard Darklighter call out.

Only then did that familiar presence he felt earlier hit him. He'd memorized Luke's Force signature in the desert, so he would always know if the boy needed help. He never imagined he'd find him here, lightyears away from where he was supposed to be. Nor could he have imagined him standing to defend Darth Vader.

"I don't know if you recognize me," Luke said in a determined voice. "But I won't let you kill this man. Not without killing me too."

"Luke…" Obi-wan said, feeling the blood drain from his face. "Luke you have to listen to me."

"Do I? Is that what you said to my father before you killed him? Is that what you said to Anakin Skywalker?"

Obi-wan cringed and his eyes darted from Luke to Vader. No. No! He couldn't find out! Not like this! Not now! He couldn't let Vader take him now that he knew who he was. Obi-wan hated himself for it but promised himself that he would help the boy understand as soon as they were out of here.

"I'm sorry," he said and shoved his hand out.

Luke flew back, clearing the way to Vader once again. Obi-wan raced at him, determined to end it before he could have a chance at getting to Luke. But the dark lord's head twisted to the side, not looking at Obi-wan but instead at the small crowd gathered along the TIE launch pit.

Even as Obi-wan realized what was about to happen it was too late. Vader's remaining hand made a fist and a sickening snap echoed through the hanger, followed by a scream from Princess Leia.

* * *

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment Obi-wan was leaping upon Vader, the next Bail let out a faint groan followed by horrifying snap coming from his neck. Leia cried out and tried to grab him but it was too late.

Bail Organa toppled forward, already dead, and plummeted into the pit before them, just barely out of reach of his daughter's fingers. Leia knew that she screamed but then it became a blur. She felt herself grab a blaster out of someone's hands and she began firing at Vader, her shots going wild through tears.

The entire hanger erupted in blaster fire. The stormtroopers who had been too busy watching the fight to notice them began shooting. Han cried out for everyone to move. But Leia kept trying to hit Vader.

She heard Threepio's voice as even more blaster fire came and she spared only half a glance to see Fett and R2 coming up with the sith assassin and a squad of stormtroopers on their tail.

Vader was getting up but he'd collected his lightsaber and Leia realized she'd never hit him. Vaguely she remembered someone telling her to blast the door and she did so, finally managing to hit a target, sealing the blast door shut, with the dark lord, and Luke behind it.

Still she kept firing, trying to hit any stormtrooper that she saw, anything she could do to get back at the Empire for what had just happened. She would fight until one of them managed to bring her down! She had to stop them!

Then a warm hand took hers and she looked to see Obi-wan.

"Run Leia, run!"

Together they rushed into the ship, already hearing Solo yelling at his wookiee to take off. Leia felt Obi-wan guide her to a nearby bench and sat down beside her, holding her in his arms as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. The Empire had taken her planet from her, and just when she thought she'd gotten her father back, it had taken him from her as well.

"I'm sorry," Obi-wan said. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

By the time they got the door open, the ship had blasted its way out of the station. But by then Vader didn't care. His eyes remained fixed on the boy that stood beside him. The one that had stood to defend him against Obi-wan. The one that the blood test had identified as nobody in particular.

"Luke," Vader said, placing an uneasy hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yes sir," Luke flinched slightly, causing Vader to withdraw his hand.

"What did you say to Kenobi about Skywalker? You are the son of Anakin Skywalker?"

"I… yes sir," Luke admitted. "I'm sorry, Mara told me to say my last name was Sunrider."

Vader's mind reeled, by now he'd almost forgotten about Obi-wan altogether. How could this be possible? He'd killed Padme… the Emperor said so! Yet even as he denied it, he could feel a certain…familiarity with the boy. The strength of his power in the Force and a feeling not unlike… her. It made no sense! And yet it had to be true!

"Lord Vader," an officer approached as soon as the doors opened. "My Lord, the ship has escaped, but we're sending fighters in pursuit per your previous orders."

For a moment Vader almost ignored the officer, his mind still fastened on Luke. But after a few moments of internal debate, he reminded himself of where he was and what he needed to do. He would get to the bottom of this mystery soon enough.

"Very good commander," Vader said. "Get this place cleaned up."

"Yes sir," the officer said. "We already have medical teams here to take care of the wounded."

"Wounded?" Luke said. "How many?"

"A few stormtroopers and a woman with credentials identifying her as an agent of the empire."

"Mara? No!"

Before Vader could stop him, Luke rushed out into the hanger, where medical personnel were moving a familiar red headed assassin onto a hover stretcher. Vader stalked up behind them, feeling not the slightest bit of pity as he saw the terrible blaster wound in the woman's chest.

"No!" Luke said, looking to the medic. "You have to save her! You have to do something!"

"It doesn't look good," the medic said. "I can't…"

"Please," Luke said then looked to the Sith Lord. "Lord Vader please, you can't let her die."

Again Vader paused for a long moment before looking to the medic. "Take this woman to my personal medical facilities and do everything you can to save her life. I will hold you personally responsible if she dies."

"Yes Lord Vader," the medic said with urgency in his voice, then signaling several other medics to aide him.

Luke stood where he was as they hauled Jade away. Even then Vader had all but put her out of his mind as he stared at the boy. His son. The one he would have left the Order for to raise with Padme. The one he thought he lost when Padme died.

"Thank you sir," Luke finally said. "You don't know what she means to me."

"Lord Vader," a familiar voice came before he could reply. Commander Cody approached. "I've organized the remaining troopers and secured the area. Governor Tarkin is already requesting your presence."

Vader clenched his eyes shut but then nodded. There was time yet.

"Commander Cody," Vader said. "I'm appointing you personal guard of the boy, see to it that he is given the finest quarters and is allowed to visit my medical facilities as he wishes."

"Yes my lord," Cody bowed. "Come on kid."

"A… alright," Luke said then looked to Vader in gratitude again.

Vader didn't respond, he just stood there, watching his son leave, realizing that everything had changed that day. Obi-wan had returned and the Force had brought Padme's son back to him.


	18. Aftermath

Obi-wan stepped into the cockpit, now bathed in the spiraling blue haze of the hyperspace tunnel. The faint acrid scent of burnt wires and smoke teased his nostrils and the fried control panel off to the side attested to the damage the ship had taken in the TIE fighter attack, but they were safe… for now.

Captain Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca barely noticed him come in, so enthralled in their own conversation.

"Yeah, I know this isn't what we bargained for Chewie," Solo said. "And I don't like it anymore than you do. But better these guys than that imperial assassin."

The wookiee with a few grunts and groans, clearly voicing his overall discontent with the situation and probably throwing in a few choice words about the state of the ship. No small wonder, since it appeared to Obi-wan that this thing had probably been falling apart back during the Clone Wars

"Look, as soon as we get to their base we can put in for some repairs," Solo said. "Figure they owe us that much."

"A great deal more than that," Obi-wan said, taking a seat. "I'm certain the Rebel Alliance will be most grateful for your help Captain Solo."

"They'd better be," Solo replied. "The Empire probably will put an even bigger bounty on my head than the one that Jabba the Hutt already has."

"Don't bet on it Solo," another voice appeared as Boba Fett entered. Chewbacca let out a fierce howl but the bounty hunter proceeded to enter regardless. "To the Empire, you're still small time. With Jabba? That's personal. I almost took the job of bringing you in rather than this one."

"And I'll bet you're just kicking yourself that you didn't," Solo said then looked to Obi-wan. "You didn't mention that he'd be coming with us."

"Yes well, a bit of an oversight on my part I suppose," Obi-wan said. "But to be fair, how was I to know the two of you have a history? Though I shouldn't think you have to worry about him turning you in for a bounty in the near future. We are sure to be very busy the moment we arrive at the Rebellion's base."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Solo said.

"The ease of our escape? The fact that Darth Vader waited for me to arrive at your ship? There must be a homing device somewhere aboard."

"Easy? You think that was easy? We barely got out of that with our exhaust port in one piece."

"He's right," Fett said. "Your typical star destroyer has a compliment of six squadrons of TIE fighters, imagine how many more that station has. They could have swarmed around us like bloodgnats. Instead they sent six, which Darklighter and I took care of."

"Thanks to my flying," Solo said. "And I'm telling you, there's no way they're tracking this ship."

"Believe what you will," Obi-wan said. "We shall just have to hope that some sort of defect can be found in the stations defenses once they analyze the plans R2 has. You are certain that the droid has the plans Fett?"

For half second the bounty hunter, even with his helmet on, appeared somewhat evasive, cagey even. Then he shrugged, "According to the protocol droid he does. The imperial technicians never managed to extract the information."

"Then that will have to do," Obi-wan said as he got up.

"Your Rebel friends better come through when we get there," Solo said. "I got a lot of debts to pay off, plus the damage done to the _Falcon_ during your scrap with Vader."

"That goes double for me," Fett said. "I expect to be paid in full for delivering the princess safely."

"I assure you gentlemen," Obi-wan said. "You'll both be amply rewarded for your efforts today."

"That's a big promise to make from someone that's never even had a conversation with the top brass of the Rebellion," Fett said.

"Bail Organa was among them," Obi-wan said. "He was as noble a man as I've ever known. I have no doubt that his associates will honor his debts. Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen."

Obi-wan left the cockpit, hearing Chewbacca growl something before he was out of earshot and into the corridor. Once there, his hand drifted to his back where the pain from Vader's assault still resided. It would heal, but it might take some time. If Obi-wan believed in luck he would surely believe that he got off lucky during his encounter with Vader.

It was a foolish, arrogant move to try and goad Vader into jumping up there, atop the _Falcon,_ and it nearly cost him his life; a mistake that he knew never to make again. The next time he encountered his former apprentice, Obi-wan knew that he had to fight him as a new man, not as Anakin.

But mistakes in battle were hardly the true issue pressing on the Jedi Master's mind. Nor was it the impending Imperial attack or the loss of Bail. No, the true source of Obi-wan's anxiety centered around Luke.

How could the boy have been there? What's worse, what could have happened that would have led him to defending Darth Vader? This wasn't how things were supposed to have happened. Leia told him that Qui-gon's spirit had taken up his vigil in the desert; which meant, unknown to her, that Qui-gon had watched over Luke. And yet, now Luke was in the hands of the Empire and Vader knew his true origin.

Obi-wan could scarcely imagine it being worse.

Then he came into the main hold and his eyes fell on Leia then settled with Winter over the dejarick table. No, he was wrong. Vader still did not know of Leia. What's more, Obi-wan had not sensed the taint of the dark side in Luke. There was still time to save the boy and nothing to tie to his relation to Leia. Not that Vader would find anyway.

Leia looked up, both she and Winter, sported slightly puffy cheeks, no doubt from recently shed tears over the loss of their homeworld and more poignantly, her father. Obi-wan had consoled her the best he could as they took off, but just as quickly had had to assist with their escape.

After a few muted words shared with one another, Leia broke off from Winter and approached him, a look of quiet determination on her face. Obi-wan raised a brow, sensing something deep on her mind.

"Can I talk to you alone?" she said.

"Of course," Obi-wan said and motioned for her to follow him into the cargo hold. Once there he stood with his arms folded, awaiting her to gain her composure and prepare herself for what she had to say.

"When we get…" she said. "I've put a lot of thought into this… I…

Finally she sighed and fumbled under her sleeve for a moment before removing her lightsaber. She held it up and shook her head, almost wistfully.

"I keep losing it, only to have it stumble back into my hands," she said. "The imperial agent that you fought at the tractor pylon took it from me. Fett took it from her during the battle. It seems I was truly meant to have it."

"It would seem so," Obi-wan nodded.

"When we get to Yavin, and all of this is over, I want to take you up on your offer. I want to learn the ways of the Force so I can protect people in the way I couldn't for my father."

Obi-wan nodded, sensing her thoughts would be something along those lines. Part of him rejoiced at the idea of being able to train her, but he lamented the price it took for her to come to that decision.

"I understand," he said. "Then known this, I will train you and teach you in the ways of the Force. You will be a Jedi, I swear it."

"Thank you," she said and put her weapon away. "I will not disappoint you."

Obi-wan placed a hand on her shoulder and did his best to radiate compassion and warmth through the Force.

"No my dear, I have no doubt that you will not."

* * *

The Emdee droids had long since given up on their quest to shoo him from the room and resigned themselves to ignoring him so long as he remained in the corner away from their patient. Initially they'd tried to treat him, somehow maybe sensing the likely bruises he'd earned from his brief clash with Kenobi, but they'd given up on that too.

Instead Luke just sat alone off in the corner, watching as they worked on saving Mara's life.

In spite of growing up on a backwater world like Tatooine, Luke wasn't exactly sheltered from the harshness of life. He still had vivid memories of seeing a farmhand in the aftermath of a Sand People raid. They'd almost split his head open with their gaffi sticks.

But in the last week, Luke had seen violence to a level he'd never encountered before. From the smoldering corpses of his family, to the stray blaster bolt he took to the shoulder to this… a shot that by all rights should have killed Mara. With all of the blaster burns and blood, Luke hadn't even been sure how much of her ribs began and chest ended.

The Emdee units informed him that had the damage been any worse, or been a centimeter to either side, there would be no hope. As it stood, it didn't look great either. He'd been told her chances were at best fifty fifty. They would only know after they were finished operating. Which left Luke nothing to do but wait and mull over everything that happened.

A few days earlier, if someone had asked him if he would ever have helped the Empire, let alone stood to defend one of its leaders, Luke would have laughed. He'd always heard of the Empire's brutality and injustice and it had kindled a desire to, if not outright rebel, at least stay away from it. And on a place like Tatooine, that seemed possible. Apart from heavy taxes, the Empire rarely intruded in their life.

So much didn't make sense now. He'd been surrounded by the Empire and until just recently hadn't seen any of the supposed horrors he'd always heard about. Yet Commander Topelli, Mara, Commander Cody, even Lord Vader himself had, at least at first, challenged many of Luke's preconceptions of the Empire's evil.

It was the side he always thought he'd eventually be on, the side of the rebellion, that had come off as the most violent in the entire fray. Running around the station, starting a prison riot, shooting up the hanger and siding with the Jedi that had killed Luke's father.

Seeing the destruction and havoc they caused, pushed Luke more and more into thinking that Mara was right, that the rebellion had killed Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. And for a single moment, back in the hanger, Luke had thought things were black and white. When he stood in front of Kenobi, lightsaber drawn, stopping him from murdering Vader. The Empire was good, the Rebellion was evil.

Then with a simple gesture, Vader had broken a man's neck. Luke still had no idea who he was, but he didn't even have a weapon. He had just been standing there, watching the fight unfold. Yet Vader had killed him simply as a way of stopping Kenobi?

Deep in the pit of Luke's stomach, something had twisted inside when that happened. Suddenly he'd seen Imperial brutality up close and personally. Biggs and the others with him only attacked others in a combat situation, at least as far as Luke could tell. But try as he might he couldn't justify Vader murdering that man.

Part of him wanted to be on that ship as it blasted out of the hanger. Instead he was left standing next to a man he didn't know if he should have saved, Mara had been hurt, and Luke found his emotions a complete jumble. He didn't know who to trust at this point.

With his thoughts so muddled and confused, he didn't hear the door open up off to the side and didn't realize someone had approached him until the white armor came right in front of him.

"Commander Cody," Luke said. "Sorry I didn't…"

"Sure kid, whatever," the stormtrooper replied. "You got a lot on your mind. Come with me."

"But I can't leave-"

"You're not going to make a difference for that girl one way or another. Lord Vader wants another blood test done on you and he wants me to be there to oversee it."

"What?" Luke narrowed his eyes. "Why does he need more… and why do you need to be here?"

"Didn't ask," Cody said. "Now come along to the next room and we'll get this over with."

* * *

"But with the blast shield down I can't see a thing in this helmet," Leia said as Biggs and Winter watched on.

"Your eyes can deceive you," Obi-wan said, taking a step away. "Don't trust them."

"Alright I'll-" Leia started, holding her lightsaber at the ready, until she heard the footsteps of someone entering the room.

"We're coming in on…" Captain Solo's voice came but suddenly trailed off. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"It's just a simply training exercise my good Captain," Obi-wan said and Leia pulled the helmet off to see Han glaring at the Jedi, his hand even twitching toward his blaster.

"Yeah, I've seen this show before," Han said. "And you can just shut it down right now."

"I assure you she's in no peril," Obi-wan said. "The remote is on the lowest setting, all she'll get is a mild sting if she misses."

"I know, and every time she misses it's going to go up until it's shooting live blaster bolts," Han said. "And I'm not having it on my ship. Shut it down."

"Live blaster bolts?" Obi-wan said.

"Han," Leia said. "What are you talking about? The remote isn't programmed to do that. Why would that even be something you'd worry about?"

Han looked slightly confused then brushed past Obi-wan and grabbed the remote out of the air, examining its settings for a moment before looking only slightly sheepish at Leia. She did her best not to smile; she had assumed he didn't want Jedi training on his ship. But that brief look said a lot more than any of his words had.

"Okay fine," Han turned back to Obi-wan. "But you better promise me that the power setting stays there. I don't have a med-bay or anything."

"Reiterating Leia's question from before," Obi-wan said. "Why would you assume that the power setting was going to go up?"

"Nevermind," Han shook his head and made for the exit. "We're coming up on Yavin, at least one of you needs to be up in the cockpit so I can prove we're who we say we are."

"I'll be right there," Leia said but Winter stood up and started after Han.

"You continue with your training your Highness," Winter said. "I can transmit a clearance code just as well as you can."

"If you're sure," Leia said but Winter was already nodding and heading out, she watched her dear friend leave then turned to see Obi-wan stroking his beard pensively. "You alright?"

"What?" Obi-wan snapped his head her direction. "Oh yes, suppose so. I was just attempting to decipher what Captain Solo meant with his comments."

"With the face you were pulling, not good?"

"No, I'm afraid not. He clearly had seen something very similar to this before. And given that we know he travelled with the Sith Assassin Mara Jade and Luke, I can't help but fear she subjected him to such training."

"You're kidding," Biggs piped up from the corner where he'd remained during the entire training session. "You mean that Imp witch shot live blaster bolts at my friend?"

"I suspect so," Obi-wan said.

"If you don't mind my asking," Leia said. "And I'm not trying to sound insensitive but… why is Luke so important that the Empire has him tagging along with an assassin?"

"Luke Skywalker is the son of a powerful Jedi Knight," Obi-wan said. "He has much potential in the Force. The Empire seeks to lure him to the Dark Side, just as it did Darth Vader."

"Wait, Vader was a Jedi?" Biggs said. "What was that like?"

"Very different," Obi-wan said. "We must find a way to rescue Luke."

"Yeah?" Biggs stood up. "Do you have a plan?"

"Not as of yet," Obi-wan said. "I don't imagine infiltrating that station will be so easy a task to repeat."

"Then what are we going to do?" Leia said.

Obi-wan wrinkled his brow in thought, after a few moments he began rubbing the beard on his chin once again before finally sighing and handing Leia the helmet she'd removed.

"We will wait and see," he said. "The Force will guide us. Luke's destiny is not yet written."

"That's it?" Biggs said. "You're not going to do anything?"

Leia was about to add her two creds when Obi-wan waved his hand and the blast shield came down. She heard the remote whoosh past her and she ignited her blade just in time to take a stun bolt to the leg. She cringed at the sting but otherwise shrugged it off, hearing Biggs' boots clomp over to them.

"I never said I would do nothing, I will trust in the Force," Obi-wan said. "As you must do as well Leia, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through her!"

"Luke is probably being put through some sort of Dark Jedi training right now!" Biggs said. "If we're going to help him we need to do more than just wait around."

"Concentrate," Obi-wan said forcing Biggs distracting argument out of her mind. She pulled her thoughts to her surroundings to the sound of the remote swooshing about. Obi-wan continued to talk, his voice almost taking a hypnotic tone. "Through the Force all things are possible. You can feel where the remote is. Through the Force you will find the ability to block blaster bolts, cast enemies aside and even…"

There was a flash of… something and Leia twisted the lightsaber from one side of her body to another, feeling no pain but hearing satisfying clicks of the stun bolts crashing against her saber blade. Triumphant, she removed her helmet to see Obi-wan smiling broadly at her then turning to Biggs.

"…Even find a way to do the impossible and rescue a comrade," the Jedi Master said.

Biggs stared at Leia with a slight look of disbelief and for her part she just took deep breaths. Her fingers tingled and she felt like smiling and crying at the same time and had no idea why. Only that she knew that for a moment she had thought she could see the remote.

"I still say we need to come up with a plan," Biggs muttered and left.

Obi-wan nodded and approached Leia, giving her a warm squeeze on the arm and a knowing smile. She'd just taken her first steps into a much bigger world.

* * *

He heard boot steps marching in unison every time he closed his eyes. He could smell the acrid scent of blaster fire mixed with droid lubricant and blood. He sometimes thought he could feel the thrumming of a siege tank beneath his feet. And yet when he opened his eyes he was still on the Death Star, still surrounded by strangers, the rest of his brothers long gone.

And now he served escort duty, conveying the kid to Darth Vader's personal quarters. At the very least they had good news to deliver… possibly. As far as Cody knew, Anakin Skywalker died during Operation Knightfall, he had no idea what interest Lord Vader had in his offspring.

Of course Cody had never even considered that the general would have had a kid, though when he really thought about it he suspected he knew who the mother was. He'd served with Skywalker enough to know his particular fondness for the Senator from Naboo.

He almost even brought it up to the kid. But decided better of it. He still didn't know what Vader would do. For all Cody knew, the Dark Lord would kill the lad. He'd seen the Sith murder plenty of his brothers or even officers for nothing less than incompetence. Back in the Clone Wars when things made sense they just demoted people.

Deep down inside, a fire rose up into Cody's chest. He had been bred, raised, and trained to serve the Republic and its successor the Empire. And he never struggled too hard to follow orders. Even when he saw his superiors doing things that he personally viewed as excessive force… some of it downright criminal.

So why now did he feel a renewed sense that the Empire felt like the Confederacy?

No. Those weren't the kind of thoughts he was trained to think. The Empire was the lawful, legitimate government that his life was created to serve. Even if he might be the only clone left of the Grand Army of the Republic, he still owed them his everything.

Which still didn't explain why he choked when he saw Kenobi.

He tried to think it was simply the shock of seeing the Jedi General anew, and the fact that he apparently found some way to cheat time. But as the duel continued, and more and more memories forced their way back into Cody's mind… a new realization had crept into the back of Cody's mind.

Watching the fight was just like… no. No. It was nothing like that.

"It looks like we're here," the kid said.

Cody pulled himself from his ill advised musings and nodded. Lord Vader's quarters. He reached to hit the call switch but the door slid open on its own accord, revealing a mostly darkened room. Deep from within, the sound of hollow breathing reached their ears and Cody had to fight the impulse to tell the kid to make a break for it.

Instead he gripped the results of the test firmly in hand and motioned for Skywalker's kid to follow him inside.

He'd never been here before but he'd seen the plans of all the major rooms so as to analyze any possibility of infiltration from assassins. All in all it wasn't much too look at. An almost entirely bare room save for a holo-projector and a central mediation chamber for the dark lord. Off to the side sat a workbench and that was about it. Any needs Darth Vader had could be found in the small circular chamber.

A chamber that stood open with the dark lord sitting in it, staring at the pair. Unconsciously, Cody's eyes went to Vader's armrests, where it appeared that he had apparently taken the time to replace the hand that Kenobi had struck from him. A hand Cody had seen murder almost countless people at this point.

Of course Vader's helmet remained impassive, so Cody could only imagine what was going through the sith lord's mind at this point. Was it murder or something else entirely? But he quickly put any questions to the side and stood up straight with his arms gripped behind his back.

The kid followed right beside Cody, his breath catching just a bit as they approached the intimidating sith lord. At least the boy's thoughts were something he could guess, anybody approaching Vader in such a setting would be thinking along the same lines. So he had to give the boy credit for keeping his nerve.

"You have the results?" Vader said without preamble.

"Yes my lord," Cody nodded and held out the data crystal.

The crystal twitched then flew out of Cody's hand and landed in an input slot in Vader's chair. A holographic image appeared before them, showing the recorded results of the boy's parentage. Vader studied it for a long time then switched off the holo.

"So it is true then," he said. "You are Skywalker's son."

"Yes sir," Luke said. "Though I just found out who he was a few days ago. My Uncle Owen always told me he was a navigator on a spice freighter."

"Owen… Lars?" Vader said.

"Yes," Luke narrowed his eyes surprised Vader would have that information. "Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru raised me."

"What of your mother?"

"I never knew her," the boy's eyes fell. "She died in childbirth, or at least that's what I was told."

Vader was silent for a long moment and Cody wondered if he ought to leave. Clearly the dark lord had no interest in him, only Skywalker. Yet he hadn't been dismissed so he just remained there standing in place, waiting for the order to be given. He just had to hope that Lord Vader didn't later see fit to assume Cody should have left.

"So you grew up on Tatooine," Vader finally said. "Until you were found by the Emperor's Hand."

"Who?"

"Mara Jade," Vader said. "She is a servant of the Emperor."

"Of the Emperor himself?" Luke raised his brows. "She said she was taking me to Coruscant for training."

"I will complete you training, she should have informed me at once when you were found," Vader said and Cody couldn't help but notice the kid flinch just a bit.

"I'm sure that Mara didn't mean to do anything that went around you back," Luke said. "And… and I need to thank you again for what you're doing to save her."

"Commander Cody," Vader turned to him. "What is the status of the woman?"

"The Emdee droids informed us just before we left that she looks like she'll make it. Though she's still going to be a bit touch and go for the next few days."

"Very good, you will keep yourself informed of her condition and report to me of any changes."

"Yes my lord," Cody bowed, again expecting to be dismissed but receiving no such order.

"If I can ask you a question sir," Luke said. "Mara told me that my Father was betrayed and murdered by Obi-wan Kenobi, that's why I attacked him. I heard you were… active during the Clone Wars. Do you know if he killed my father?"

Again for a long minute Vader didn't answer, but instead stared with his menacing mask at the boy. Finally he flicked a finger and the door behind them shut. Cody fought the instinct to go for his blaster, this man was his superior and he had done nothing wrong.

"Yes," Vader finally said. "From a certain point of view you may say that Obi-wan did kill Anakin Skywalker."

"A certain point of view?" Luke said.

"Indeed," Vader said. "But the Force was with you today young Skywalker, Obi-wan could easily have destroyed you. Only by accepting training from me will you be powerful enough to avenge your father's death."

"I… just acted in the moment, and he's with my friends right now…"

"Your friends that shot Jade in the chest?"

"We don't know who shot her…"

"Commander Cody," Vader said. "You managed to get out into the room when the firefight started. Did you see who shot Commander Jade?"

Deep in the back of his mind, Cody thought he heard something tell him not to tell the Dark Lord the answer. Clearly he was playing the kid and this was as blatant an attempt to sway him as any, but it left a foul feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yet, Cody never disobeyed orders.

"It was the Corellian Smuggler," Cody said. "He aimed directly at her."

"Han? Han shot Mara?"

"If that's the name of the smuggler then yes," Cody said.

"But he knew how much she…" Luke shook his head. "I mean he saw that…"

"He is a traitor to the Empire, just like the others," Vader said. "They will stop at nothing in their efforts to destroy the peace of the Galaxy. Join me and together we can put a stop to it."

"I… need… I thought Han was my… and Biggs…" Luke shook his head. Finally he straightened up but almost looked as if something in him had broken. "You can promise me that you will help me bring Kenobi and Han to justice?"

"Yes," Vader said. "We will bring them all to justice."

"Then I… I will accept your training."

"Good," Vader said then turned to Cody. "Take the boy and get him the best quarters available. As before, I leave him as your personal charge until the time that he is powerful enough to protect himself."

"Yes my lord," Cody said, supplying one final vow.

"When this battle is done," Vader said to Luke. "Your training will begin. You will soon come to know the true definition of power."

With that, Vader's the gears and servos in the floor and ceiling whined and Vader's mediation pod closed down, sealing the dark lord inside. Cody let out a breath and looked at the kid who looked just as drained from the encounter as he did.

"You okay kid?" Cody said.

"I don't know. I really don't know," Luke said. "My head says yes but my… another part says no. That doesn't make any sense."

"Actually kid," Cody said. "It does."

* * *

Vader kept his eyes close as he felt the mechanical arms clamp around his helmet. The gas released the internal pressure and the helmet lifted off. A moment later the mask peeled away and he sat back, easing his head onto the head rest, his eyes remaining sealed.

Around him the pressurized meditation sphere contained the specialized atmosphere that allowed him to breathe without the aid of his suit. If he opened his eyes he'd find the chamber dimmed into a red hue so as to protect the damage to his corneas and retinas long ago.

With the time he spent in the cumbersome suit, he relished the moments he had in the chamber where he could at least be free of the helmet. While inside he often went through mediation and healing techniques, attempting to find a way to rid himself of the suit forever. Thus far he'd made little progress.

Anakin look what you've allowed them to do to you!

Obi-wan's voice came unbidden, the dark lord still felt an uneasy shakiness when he thought on his former master's return. The enigma of his youth burned at his mind and probably would have completely consumed his focus if not for more pressing matters.

Outside the sphere, Vader could still feel Luke's presence; uncertain, doubtful, curious, and fascinated. Luke's emotions ran the gamut of the spectrum. Even amid the doubts, Vader sensed a boy determined to do the right thing. He only needed to be taught what the right thing was to do.

Luke.

Did Padme give him that name? Or was it Owen Lars? If Vader had not once been to Naboo and seen her body himself, he would even wonder if Padme had indeed survived and Luke was merely told she was dead.

The Emperor knew. The Emperor knew she had lived at least for a time and yet told Vader that he was responsible. If they were not in the middle of destroying the rebellion, Vader would be on his way to Coruscant to demand answers. In the mean time he would get those answers from Mara Jade and she would wish that she had died when the smuggler shot her.

You're more machine now than man, twisted and evil.

Vader's eyes cinched tighter and his teeth ground.

Obi-wan. Obi-wan had taken Padme from Mustafar. He took Luke away from him just as he turned Padme away. Now he was with the rebels. He had survived their latest encounter but would meet his end with the rest of them when they reached the rebel base. Vader would make sure of it.

And then he would take Luke and train him in the ways of the Force.

When they had been talking, Vader had wanted nothing more than to tell the boy who he was and how important he was. Instead he restrained himself. Feeling the boy's uncertainty and doubt, it became quickly apparent that at the moment, Mara Jade's life and his desire to see Obi-wan brought to justice were what would command his loyalty.

For now, Vader would exploit those desires until the time came to reveal that they were father and son. That Vader had done everything he had done for the boy's mother. And that they were destined to rule the Galaxy side by side.

Next time: The Battle of Yavin begins.


	19. The Board is Set

"Well I must admit that I hadn't expected this," Obi-wan said as they came into view of the Massassi temple that served as the Rebellion's headquarters. His eyes drifted over to Leia and Winter. "You certainly picked a renowned spot for your hideaway."

"We did?" Biggs was the one to speak up. "It's just some ancient temple."

"That ancient temple is where Exar Kun, made his final stand during the Sith Wars some four thousand years ago," Obi-wan said.

"Fitting," Winter said. "It may well be where we make our final stand."

"Bringing us in for a landing," Han said then looked to the small group peering out the viewports. "You mean that's where you're making your final stand, as soon as I get paid I'm out of here."

Chewbacca let out something of a cough and then grunted just a bit, almost as if he was admitting guilt in some horrible deed. Han's fingers slipped on the controls and the Falcon's landing struts skidded against the temples floor before settling down.

"What do you mean the hyperdrive is shot?" Han said. "It got us here didn't it?"

The wookiee let out a groan and proceeded to explain the situation, with each bark and grumble Han's face grew paler and worry lines appeared on his forehead. For a moment it looked like he was considering lifting off again but finally he just shook his head and sat back his seat.

"Well that's just great," Han said as the others waited for an explanation. "Thanks to your psychotic little droid and the damage we took in the escape, the hyperdrive is fused. We got one trip out of it and that was here."

"You can't repair it?" Leia said.

"No," Han shook his head. "It has to be completely removed and replaced. That's another thing that your rebellion is going to have to do for me."

"I'll be sure to let them know," Leia said. "Though a bit of a warning, we're going to be busy preparing for the Imperial attack, chances of you getting a work crew to replace your hyperdrive will hover just below zero."

"Fantastic," Solo said, jamming the controls off and shaking his head. "Somehow I always figured it would end like this."

"I'm sure we can come up with some sort of solution," Obi-wan said as he pulled himself up. "But until then we need to get Artoo and the plans he carries to your technicians. Time is of the essence."

Leia nodded and followed him out. Along the way they passed Fett, checking his weapons and armor. She almost told him to relax, that he was safe here, but recognized it was both useless and also perhaps not completely unwarranted. Boba Fett hadn't exactly been a friend of the Alliance's up to this point.

In fact, if she wasn't certain the Empire was following them at this point, she'd have grave concerns about him even knowing the location of their base. But it was moot at this now. The Empire would likely arrive soon and they would either fight or flee.

The ramp descended and Leia took stock of their little group. Who knew what would happen from here? They'd finally reached their destination. From here they would likely split up to every which way in the Galaxy. She took a breath when her eyes fell on Winter and Obi-wan. At least two people she knew would stay close, though they would all be consumed by their duties. Particularly Obi-wan, the famous Jedi General would no doubt be required to assume a leadership position.

That assumption, much to her surprise, came into question almost as soon as they landed. The initial greeting went as well as could be expected. Condolences were expressed for the loss of Alderaan and her father. Biggs was hailed as a hero. And most importantly, R2 was rushed to the droid lab where the Death Star plans were extracted and analyzed.

Leia had expected to run into trouble in regards to bringing Boba Fett to their base, but once the homing device was found and they realized the Empire would not be far behind, his presence became less of a concern. What really caught her off guard was the treatment of Obi-wan.

Apparently bringing a thirty something Jedi and claiming he was the same thirty something Jedi that disappeared twenty years ago came as a bit of a stretch to the imagination. Leia had thought that some of the older members of the Rebellion, that were active during the Clone Wars, would confirm the Jedi's identity but they just seemed suspicious of him. Some even thought him to be a clone created by the Empire with the intent on infiltrating the Alliance.

It wasn't until General Jan Dodonna came to see what the fuss was about that things started to get resolved. While Dodonna and Kenobi weren't much more than acquaintances, Obi-wan was able to tell him the specifics of a conversation they'd once had, enough to convince the general that Kenobi was the genuine article. Even so, he ordered blood work done just to be certain. So rather than aiding the Alliance leadership in coordinating an attack, Obi-wan went to the med-bay.

And that's where Leia found herself just before the big meeting where Dodonna was to present his strategy for their attack against the Death Star. Obi-wan sat on a medical bed rubbing his wrist slightly where the Emdee droid had gripped it to get the blood sample.

"I'm so sorry about this," Leia said, taking a seat next to him. "The Alliance means well, we've just been deceived in the past."

"No no," Obi-wan said. "I understand the precaution. Though I would have thought me demonstrating Jedi abilities should have clued them in. As you can't clone Jedi you know."

"There's been some debate about that, remind me to tell you about Starkiller," Leia said.

"Who?"

"The results are in," the Emdee droid interrupted. "Congratulations, you have no genetic markers of clones or other replicant lifeforms and you have a 100% match with Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Well that's reassuring," Obi-wan said. "I take it that means I'm free to go?"

The Emdee droid simply bowed and set about doing other tasks so Obi-wan shrugged and cast off from the bed, joining Leia side as the two made their way through the temple. A nervous energy hovered about as they went. Everyone scrambled to get ready for the pending Imperial attack. Leia herself felt a barely containable edge that made her want to run or fight or… well, do anything except wait around.

"Patience," Obi-wan said. "In short time we will all have more than enough on our plates to keep us occupied."

"Am I so easy to read?"

"I'm half afraid that you'll shake the Force around you apart if you continue," Obi-wan said. "In the meantime, we best get to the meeting."

"Right," Leia nodded and fell into lockstep with him. It was only when they spotted the meeting room that Leia paused and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I just need to know one thing," she said. "Do you think we have a chance?"

"The future is muddied and difficult to see," Obi-wan said. "But I find it hard to believe that the Force went to such great lengths to unite the two of us only to have it all end today. We shall see."

Leia nodded and managed a smile. The Force had always been something of a nebulous concept before. More something that she used in conversation or speeches as a way of wishing luck than a firm belief in an energy field controlling everything. But Obi-wan clearly believed it and so she had to admit, he had a point.

* * *

Yet another floor and yet another deck officer that didn't know where Skywalker got to.

At this rate Lord Vader would be wringing his neck within the hour.

Cody cursed to himself as he picked up the pace of his march. With the Death Star nearing the Rebel base, he needed to be seeing after his squad, making sure they were ready. Not that he expected any stormtroopers to see much battle today. There wasn't going to be much left of Yavin IV to occupy after all.

Of course he would never occupy anything again if he didn't find Skywalker.

The kid slipped out of his notice when they had been on their way to check up on Jade. One minute they were passing a couple of turbolift tubes and another group of stormtroopers, the next Cody noticed the kid gone and lift doors closing. Kid might have been manipulated by Jade and Vader but he wasn't entirely stupid. He knew an opportunity when he saw one.

Nearly an hour passed and still no sign of the kid was to be found. On a station this large, Cody could look for days and never find him. And blast it all if he couldn't even figure out what the kid meant to play at. He had accepted Vader's offer and still seemed determined to care for Jade. Yet now he suddenly ran off? Didn't make sense.

They were in the middle of hyperspace so… no way the kid took a shuttle. Jade hadn't been disturbed, the Emdees would have notified him otherwise. Which didn't really leave many more possibilities. In the end Cody even went back down to the detention level thinking the kid might have been there for whatever reason. No luck.

Close to admitting he would have to put together a squad and alert some of the other platoons, Cody found himself wandering into a docking bay. It wasn't the one where Kenobi and Vader had their duel. Just some random hanger. A random hanger with a battered J-Type Nubian Starskiff sitting in the middle of it.

Cody narrowed his eyes as he approached. The last person he ever saw with one of these was Senator Amidala. Vaguely he recalled hearing about the rebels coming aboard in a banged up ship. Though it shouldn't have struck him as too odd that they would have been in such an… old ship. Most everything the rebellion worked with was… well past its prime.

Somewhere there was a comparison involving himself but he really didn't want to make the connection at the moment.

As he neared the ship, he noticed the work crews buzzing all around it. Not just human technicians either but also an assortment of repair droids ranging from G2's to the latest astromech models. Someone really wanted this ship repaired.

The aged stormtrooper rolled his jaw from one side of his mouth to the other as he thought on it. Given who he guessed the boy's mother was… might the kid be in there? He'd given up on most any other place to look so it certainly couldn't hurt.

However, just as he put a foot on the ramp, a technician along with a pair of stormtroopers rushed over to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the technician said. "This vehicle is strictly off limits to unauthorized personnel. Lord Vader's orders, he wants it completely restored and undisturbed."

"Unauthorized?" Cody said, scanning the technician up and down. "I outrank you. I'm just doing a quick inspection of the ships interior."

"The ships interior is fine," one of the stormtrooper said, his voice giving away the fact that he was clearly an enlisted man. "I just checked it out."

"Well that's fine boy, but I'm going in there to take a look around," Cody said.

"No, you're not," the other stormtroopers said, also letting him know with his voice that they weren't brothers. "Just because you were grown in a tube doesn't mean you get to do whatever the hell you want."

"I'm sorry what?" Cody turned away from the ramp.

"You heard me old man," the stormtrooper said. "Crawl and wheeze back into your cylinder and let the real stormtroopers do their jobs."

"You boys know I'm a first generation clone yeah?" Cody said. "Fought alongside Jedi and faced down the likes of General Grievous."

"A first gen huh?" the other trooper said. "Your creaking bones and war stories suppose to impress us? I've seen you first gens in action, our commanders use them for cannon fodder."

"That's about all they're good for," the other chuckled.

"No," Cody said. "I'm telling you this for two reasons. One, I want you to know exactly what kind of man I am. And two, I want you to understand that when I talk about facing down entire squads of clankers and Sith Lords, I learned more than a few tricks."

Before they could respond Cody launched himself at them, smashing a boot against the first one's chest, sending him tripping over an astromech passing behind. The second trooper had his blaster out but Cody batted it aside and delivered a crack to the man's throat, just between the armor and the helmet.

The man stumbled away, gasping for breath and Cody turned to the one he first knocked over; only now getting up. The stormtrooper grasped at his blaster but Cody ripped it from his fingers and proceeded to beat him with it. With a vicious two handed swing he took the soldiers helmet off and clocked him in the head. That done he turned to deal with the other guy only to find that the cowardly technician had summoned security.

An entire squad of stormtroopers had appeared, though most didn't have their blasters drawn, apparently more curious than angry at the beating the others had been receiving. Still, Cody knew it wouldn't be much longer before they swarmed over him if he kept that up.

"Someone do a sweep of that ship's interior," Cody said, throwing the blaster down. "I'm certain there's someone onboard that shouldn't be."

After another moment of uncertain stillness, the technician moved in front of the stormtroopers. "Well aren't you going to arrest him? He assaulted those two! He might be a rebel spy just like the ones here earlier."

"Not with that voice he isn't," one of the stormtroopers said then pointed to a pair of the troops. "You two take him to the brig and you two… make a thorough sweep of the ship."

The stormtroopers broke away to do their tasks and the pair assigned to Cody gripped his arms. He shoved them away and handed them his detonator and blaster and helmet.

"I know the way to the brig," Cody said. "You don't need to carry me there."

The troopers looked at each other then down at the two Cody had laid out. Apparently neither felt inclined to challenge him so they just shrugged and motioned for him to get moving. Cody nodded and paid a final glance at the stormtrooper he'd punched in the throat.

Maybe he was old like that ship they didn't want him to get on. But he still had it. He still fought like the best of them. And for just this one moment, that was enough.

* * *

If the base had been on high alert leading up to Dodonna's strategy session, then the somewhat organized chaos that reigned, now attested even more to the urgency; particularly pronounced now, because the Death Star had been detected on long range scanners at the edge of the system.

Around him, flight crews scrambled to perform last minute prep for the starfighters that would lead the assault. Supposedly such a strategy appeared to be their only hope at this point. Some of the leadership had been hustled onto transports but the vast majority of the Alliance's forces were to remain. There was no real time to evacuate them anyway.

The chances of success on the pending attack on the Death Star seemed slim. And while Obi-wan had made a career out of beating long odds, he personally never thought it hurt to try and even them as much as possible.

A couple of the generals had wanted Obi-wan to join them in their council, others wanted him shipped away along with the few leaders going, but he had declined both. The former on the grounds that he did not yet know enough about the current galactic situation to serve as an effective voice, the latter because if he could help he would. He had been out of the fight for far too long.

In the future he might join the Alliance leadership in their planning and strategy meetings. For now he sought to influence the upcoming fight in a more direct way.

The Millennium Falcon sat in a secluded corner of the makeshift hanger, away from the bustling flight crews and repair teams. Atop its hull, Chewbacca could be seen desperately welding parts together with a plasma torch. The wookiee barely noticed as Obi-wan ascended the loading ramp.

"No, no Chewie!" he heard Han's voice as soon as he entered. "We're going to have a burn out if you- Dammit! Chewie get down here!"

Obi-wan followed the sound of the smuggler's voice until he reached the engineering pit. Smoke billowed out of it and Solo scrambled up the ladder sporting a pair of welding goggles and a sour look. Obi-wan only shook his head and held out a hand to help him up.

"Repairs could be going better I see," Obi-wan said.

"They're fine," Han said. "We've got everything under control."

Obi-wan batted a waft of smoke away from his hand. "Clearly."

"We'll have the ship ready to go by the time the Empire gets here," Han said.

Chewie descended back into the ship and Obi-wan frowned at the state of the ship.

"I'm afraid that the Empire is already here, the Alliance is gearing up for its attack."

"You mean its suicide run," Han said.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Obi-wan shrugged. "But that brings me to why I'm here. I want you to be a part of said attack."

Han narrowed his eyes at the Jedi Master for a moment then let out a chuckle. "Right, fly in with the rest of them? I might as well aim the _Falcon_ at a star and go right into lightspeed."

Chewbacca grumbled a bit about the work he had been doing up top and Obi-wan nodded.

"I don't think you'll be pointing your ship in any direction given the current state that it's in," Obi-wan said. "From what I've noticed and what Chewbacca just said, your new hyperdrive isn't even a third of the way installed and your only operating at partial sublight. Face it my friend, even if you took off now you wouldn't get halfway out of the system before the Empire caught you."

Han shook his head and then looked around the ship. Long lines drew across his forehead as he took a breath, maybe even partially admitting defeat.

"So I'm just supposed to give up, just like that? I've never worked that way."

"I never expected that you would," Obi-wan said. "But right now you only really have two options. Abandon your ship on this moon and leave with the evacuees-"

"Never going to happen," Han said.

"Or you join the fight and do your best to make sure that battle station is destroyed."

"Those are my two options huh?" Han raised a brow.

"Of course not," Obi-wan said. "But the third option of doing nothing doesn't strike me as something you'd be inclined to do."

Han shook his head. "You really think having me flying in one of those X-wings is going to make a lick of difference?"

"Even the smallest snowflake can trigger an avalanche," Obi-wan said.

Han rolled his eyes and started going for the hydrospanner. "What about Fett? Can't you just higher him?"

"I could try," Obi-wan said. "But the Alliance has already prohibited him from taking part in the battle and he's likely smuggled himself onto one of the transport ships."

"Great, so a creep like that is getting away from the battle while the rest of us are stuck here," Han shook his head.

"All the more reason for you to participate, beyond being your best chance of survival today," Obi-wan said. "Helping the Alliance represents your best source of survival for tomorrow as well."

"How's that?" Han said as he approached the pit.

"I heard your conversation with Boba Fett if you recall," Obi-wan said. "You owe a great deal of money to Jabba the Hutt."

"Yeah, and I have the means to finally pay most of it back," Han said. "Which won't do me any good if I'm dead."

"We both know that Jabba doesn't forgive debt that easily. He'll want to charge you extra, or he'll outright decide to make an example of you," Obi-wan said. "But I once led a mission to save Jabba's son's life. While the Hutt would hardly think that he owes me anything, he certainly would sit down with me at the negotiation table."

"What are you getting at?" Han narrowed his eyes.

"I'm saying that if you fly this mission with me," Obi-wan said. "I will personally negotiate your debt with Jabba. At the very least you'll have it settled once and for all, at the very best you might even be able to keep some of that reward for yourself."

"That's assuming I survive…" Han said but already Obi-wan could see the wheels turning in his head. "What about Chewie? I don't want him stuck here if things go south."

"Have Chewie stay aboard your ship," Obi-wan said. "Once the battle groups have left he ought to be able to requisition some maintenance droids to effect enough repairs that he will at least be able to take off should the assault fail."

Han flattened his lips and furrowed his brows. Clearly he still didn't like the idea of partaking in the assault but Obi-wan had done his work to open him the idea. Any further pressing on the subject would either be futile or even drive the smuggler away.

"I shall leave you to consider it," Obi-wan said. "Though you only have about fifteen minutes to make a decision. In the meantime I must get ready for the part I will play in this battle."

Obi-wan nodded to Chewbacca and made for the exit. After a few steps he heard Han setting down the hydrospanner and taking a few tentative steps toward him. Obi-wan fought the impulse to glance over his shoulder and just waited for the smuggler to speak.

"So you think that your all powerful Force controls everything right?" Han said.

"I do," Obi-wan nodded.

"So what about this battle, what does it tell you about this battle?"

"That it will have a much better chance at succeeding with you in it."

* * *

Vader stood next to Tarkin as the large gas giant that was Yavin came into view. Memories of another life flooded back unbidden. He knew the Rebels to now be on Yavin IV, the only habitable celestial body in the system. He suspected they were on the ancient Massassi temple grounds. A place Anakin Skywalker had come to during his initial battle against Asajj Ventress.

Obi-wan now stood on those temple grounds and part of Vader wished to take a shuttle and finish his old master off atop those stones. Ventress failed to overcome him there and Obi-wan would as well.

Yet he knew there would be no time for such a battle. Tarkin was determined to destroy the Rebels with one swift stroke; a strategy that Vader fully endorsed. Such rebellions had hounded the Empire for far too long. Once this one was finally quelled, the Empire could finally go about bringing true peace and order to the Galaxy.

"This is a momentous day," Vader said. "It will see the end of Kenobi and the death of the Rebellion."

Tarkin eyed him for a moment before turning back to the viewscreen displaying a readout of Yavin IV's position relative to them as they established an orbit with the planet. Had they had more time, they might have approached the system from another vector. But waiting a few more minutes wouldn't kill them. Not while Vader was there to repel any pathetic counter attack they may spring on them.

A pair of aids entered along with a couple of soldiers and to Vader's great surprise… Luke. Tarkin raised a brow but approached the officers he'd summoned first.

"Prepare all hands for attack and have all turbolasers manned and ready, they will no doubt launch some sort of resistance," Tarkin said to the officers then looked to the soldiers.

"We found this one in a restricted area," the soldier said. "Aboard the ship that the Princess and her group arrived on."

"Interesting," Tarkin said. "And what were you doing in there?"

The youth didn't look to Tarkin but rather Vader.

"I… I was just looking for some answers," he said. "I wanted to know more about the Rebellion since all I saw of them was when they were attacking."

"Hmmm," Tarkin said. "And for this you needed to go into a restricted space?"

"I thought I could get a… less biased source," Luke said.

"Indeed," Tarkin said then looked to Vader. "I take it you wish to deal with the boy as you're the one that ordered the ship's access to be restricted."

"I will," Vader said. "But the boy did no harm, I will deal with him in my own way."

"Very well," Tarkin said then signaled the guards to leave. "Come my boy, let me show you something."

Luke hesitated for a moment before approaching Tarkin and stepping to his side, all the while Vader watched.

"Before you," Tarking gestured to the display. "Is all you need to know of the Rebellion. On the fourth moon of this planet they have situated their base. From there they have been harassing our star fleet. In a few minutes time we will destroy them."

"Destroy them?" Luke said. "With just this battle station?"

"Do you really not know what this station is?" Tarkin said.

"I'm sorry… I don't…" Luke said. "I thought, given all the troops aboard, that it was some sort of orbital staging ground."

"Yes, well it is far more than that," Tarkin said. "As the Rebellion will soon learn."

"Shouldn't they be captured and tried?"

"They have already been found guilty of treason," Tarkin said. "We are here to carry out the execution."

"This is war Luke," Vader said. "They are the enemy that chose to disrupt the order of the Empire."

"It still doesn't seem right," Luke muttered.

"Does it seem right what they did to your friend Mara Jade?" Vader said.

"Mara is going to be alright," Luke said.

"No, she will not," Vader said. "I was going to wait until after the battle but it seems you need to know now. She's dead."

Luke's entire face opened in shock. Vader could feel the denial and the surprise rolling off of him. Had he felt similarly when the Emperor told Padme was dead? He honestly had a hard time remembering now. At least those first initial seconds.

"No… no… the doctors said that she was stable…"

"Commander Cody reported to me a short while ago that she took a turn for the worst and died," Vader said. "You can see the body if you wish."

"I… I thought…"

"The Rebellion killed her," Vader said. "Now we will get revenge on them. You can be a part of that."

"Solo," Luke breathed. "Han killed her."

"Sir," an officer's voice came through the communit. "We've detected a large group of starfighters on an approach vector from the Rebel Moon."

"Starfighters?" Tarkin muttered, cupping a hand under his chin as he looked at the Death Star display.

"I will deal with them," Vader said.

"Very well," Tarkin said. "Though I can't imagine what they think they're going to do against us with simple snub fighters."

"Wait for me outside Luke," Vader said. "There we will discuss how you can strike back at those that killed your friend."

Slowly Luke nodded and exited the room with his head hanging low and his mind burning with emotion, not the least of these was anger against Solo. Tarkin watched alongside Vader for a few moments then looked back at the displays.

"Is Commander Jade truly dead?" he said.

"She will be by the time Luke ever goes down the infirmary," Vader said. "The boy will be a far greater asset than Jade ever was."

* * *

The last of the ships had taken off, leaving Obi-wan standing there watching. After leaving Han with Commander Dreis, he was shocked to find that there was no starfighter for himself. He had requested one as soon as the meeting with Dodonna finished.

Upon hunting down the deck officer he learned that those among the security council that had wanted him to evacuate had put a grounding order on him; effectively preventing any crews from prepping a ship for him. Furthermore, they stated that he wasn't cleared for flight as he was unfamiliar with the modern starfighters.

At least that part appeared to be somewhat prudent. Obi-wan had taken the time to sit himself in an X-wing and realized it would take some time for him to learn the controls. It wasn't entirely different from an ARC-170 but as that was a clone fighter Obi-wan hadn't been trained in piloting it. Oh sure, he could certainly fly an x-wing if he really tried, but he wouldn't be very much help in the battle.

Still, standing by and waiting for the outcome of the battle held no appeal for him. Particularly since he still fully intended on rescuing Luke. If the battle was a success, then there was every chance that the boy would be destroyed along with the station. No, Obi-wan had to get airborne.

Finally he found his way to a Y-wing. A number of them had been launched but they were of the single pilot model. The models fitted for a pilot and an optional co-pilot remained docked.

After making a quick look around, Obi-wan ascended the ladder and peeked into the pilot's seat. A smile grew beneath his beard as he eyed the controls. In the height of the Clone War there had been Y-wings and it appeared that they hadn't made too many changes to the interface on the newer models. It wasn't a Jedi Starfighter but it would have to do.

Quickly Obi-wan found himself a locker and a flight suit. He of course would have preferred not to wear one at all but as he had mused earlier, it wasn't a Jedi Starfighter he was going up in. He had to be prepared to fly the craft he needed to fly.

After tugging on the suit he again approached the ship, only to find R2-D2 and C-3PO planted right next to the ladder. Obi-wan paused and rubbed his chin. He would have thought that the little astromech would be plugged into one of the X-wings, already on its way to the battle station.

"What are you doing here my little friend?" Obi-wan said as he crouched down and patted the droid's 'head'. "Were you not invited to go along either?"

The droid beeped a stream of 'words' rocking back and forth just a little as he did. Obi-wan looked up to the golden droid from translation.

"He says he wants to join you," C-3PO shook his head. "You're going to get yourself destroyed Artoo! Oh, why do you have to do things like this. We could have been on a transport!"

"Artoo stayed behind at my request," Leia's voice came. Obi-wan turned and raised a brow when he saw her standing in a flight suit and carrying a helmet under her shoulder. "It looks like I was right to make it."

"I assume this means you think you're coming along," Obi-wan said. "You know you don't have to, my promise to save Luke was not an obligation you had to share."

"You're my Jedi Master," Leia shrugged. "Where you go I go. Now come on, we don't have much time."

"Very well," Obi-wan grinned. "I assume you're familiar with the controls."

"Probably more than you are," Leia said. "I've flown y-wings before."

"Then let's get going."

R2 hooted and then his booster jets popped out of his struts and he launched himself in the air, plugging himself into the droid socket. Obi-wan nodded. R2 was always Anakin's droid, but it was fitting that he be there now to watch over Leia. It all felt… right. Quickly he ascended the ladder and plopped himself in the pilot's seat. A few moments later Leia sat in the gunner's position a little further up the craft than he was.

From there she would be able to control weapons power output, the primary guns, and the swivel mounted ion cannon. Meanwhile Obi-wan would handle the flying as well as the forward blasters.

"Be careful Artoo," C-3PO said. "You wouldn't want my life to get boring would you?"

The droid warbled a response.

"Do take good care of yourself," the droid shook his head.

"I've already ordered the deck officer to clear us for takeoff," Leia said through the intercom. "We should take off before I'm missed at the command hub."

"Then let join the battle," Obi-wan initiated the thrusters and they took off. "And may the Force be with us."


	20. Destiny

" _All wings report in_ ," Commander Dreis ordered.

One by one, the various pilots called in. Han kept his mouth shut and waited his turn, all the while trying to remember what exactly that crazy Jedi said to him that made him sign up. He didn't belong in this fight anymore than the Falcon belonged in a hanger that was about to be blown up.

Yet here he was, just about to assault a damn moon sized space station literally called the "Death Star". How was that not insane? Especially given the fact that the target they planned on hitting was next to impossible. If he had any sense he would contact Chewie and tell him to get moving then use the X-wing's hyperspace engine to get the hell out of there.

 _"Red 5 do you copy? Solo_!" Dreis voice came.

Abruptly Han snapped out of his musings. "Uh… sorry, Red 5 standing by."

" _Keep it together Solo_ ," Dreis said. " _The fun hasn't even started yet_."

Han rolled his eyes at himself just a little. Here he was probably the best pilot in the attack group and he just got called out like a rookie. Worse than that, he pretty much deserved it. He took a moment to straighten himself out in his seat and focused on the mission. Something increasingly easy to do as the Death Star began swallowing up the entire viewport.

" _Lock s-foils in attack position_ ," came the command.

The 'wings' from the squadron separated, finally giving the starfighters the eponymous 'x' in their name. Han followed suit yet still felt he was flying in a coffin with wings. Sure this thing would be better in a dogfight, but he knew the Falcon inside and out. All the more reason to make sure this thing blew.

" _We're passing through the magnetic field, hold tight_!" Dreis said, partially for their benefit, partially to let command know the situation. " _Switch your deflector screens to double front._ "

The Death Star loomed ever large and Han shook his head, hardly believing that only a few short hours ago, he was aboard and running around it.

" _Look at the size of that thing!_ "

" _Cut the chatter Red 2_ ," Dreis said. " _Accelerate to attack speed_."

Han gripped the controls a bit tighter and hit the accelerator. With Red 3, Biggs, and Red 2, some guy named Wedge, flanking him they dove down above the Death Star's surface. Slow moving turbo laser cannons fired at them, their massive bolts easily missing the more agile craft. They were designed to hit larger capital ships and orbital defense stations, not snub fighters.

The strafing maneuver by the X-wings served the dual purpose of destroying some of the armaments and more importantly setting Gold squad up for its attack run on the trench. The only problem was that at the close range they were flying to the surface, the explosions caused by their turbolasers stood a good chance at destroying them.

"I'm going in," Han said, angling the deflector shield and pulling the x-wing into a tight spin, dodging defense towers before unleashing blaster fire. Even as he did he cursed, he had gotten so used to the Falcon's controls that he underestimated the amount of time before the surface explosions caught up with him.

" _Han pull up_!" Biggs called through the channel. " _Are you alright_?"

"Got a little cooked but I'm alright," Han muttered.

The R5 plugged in behind him flashed a disagreement on the screen, the characters displayed in all caps. Han grit his teeth. "Yeah? Well no one asked you! Reroute power the stabilizers! We're going in for another run!"

* * *

The alarms blared across the Death Star while stormtroopers and officers scrambled to their posts, or to deliver information to their superiors. It had taken an embarrassing amount of time for some of them to realize this was an actual attack and not a drill.

Then again, thus far the rebel attack had only scratched some of the outer defenses. Repair crews busied themselves assessing the damage but none of it truly constituted a true threat. Still they were finally taking it seriously, dashing about to respond.

And amid all the chaos, Darth Vader strode with Luke by his side.

They'd spoken little since his appearance before Tarkin but Vader could feel his confusion at Mara's death giving way to a spark of anger. Good, Vader now only needed to stoke that anger until it became a flame. And given what he felt of the rebel pilots through the Force… he knew what to do.

"Lord Vader," an officer ran up to them. "We count thirty rebel ships but they're so small they're evading our turbolasers!"

"We'll have to take them out ship to ship," Vader said. "Get the crews to their fighters."

The officer nodded and scurried away. Vader looked down at Luke, who wore a curious expression.

"What good are starfighters going to do against this thing?"

"Even a one man fighter, given the opportunity, can destroy a much larger vessel," Vader said. "We must not be too overconfident in mere technology. We must rely on the Force."

Luke nodded but still wore a frown.

"And through the Force, I sense a familiar presence in one of those starfighters," Vader said. "Captain Solo."

"Han," Luke's eyes lit up.

"If you wish you can destroy him," Vader said.

"How?" Luke said.

"Come with me," Vader said. "We must get you a flight suit."

* * *

" _Watch yourself_ ," Dreis said. " _There's a lot of fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower._ "

" _I'm on it_ ," Han said.

" _I'm going in_ ," came Biggs voice. " _Cover me Porkins_."

" _I'm right with you Red 3_ ," Porkins said.

Winter watched the displays in the command center, but her face remained passive and unreadable, as was her nature. Yet inside a jittery feeling of nervousness strove to break out. Not just for the sake of the mission and the knowledge that if it failed they would all die in fire, but also for concern over the pilot she'd just heard over the commsystem.

She was far too realistic to make or expect a promise from Biggs before the flight that he would come back, but she at the very least managed to tell him to be careful. For whatever reason she'd grown rather fond of the pilot and dreaded the thought of him dying.

Which only further caused her stomach to sink when she heard the ensuing conversation over the comm, as Porkins and Biggs began to yell frantically followed by the sound of one of them reaching a horrible end. For half a moment it wasn't clear who it was but then Biggs voice came through.

" _We lost Porkins_ ," he said.

Winter let out a breath cursing herself on the inside for being relieved for Biggs even though another man had died. She hated it but she couldn't shake the feeling that no matter how much she wanted to fight against it, Biggs would meet his fate in this battle.

"Squad Leaders," one of the officers said. "We've picked up a new group of signals, enemy fighters coming your way."

On the display screen red dots appeared in the tactical field, TIE fighters. Apparently the Empire had tired of mostly missing the x-wings while they defaced the surface of the Death Star. Now Winter and the Alliance had to hope their pilots could match up against the best the Empire had to offer.

" _My scopes negative_ ," Wedge said. " _I don't see anything_."

" _Pick up visual scanning_ ," Dreis ordered. " _Here they come_!"

A few seconds passed by as the red dots caught up with the green ones and the pilots began talking back and forth trying to aid one another. Almost as soon as it started one of the green lights went out, another pilot had died.

" _Darklighter you picked one up_ ," Solo's voice came and Winter edged closer to the display.

" _I can't see it_!" Biggs shouted, Winter's breath caught in her throat. " _He's on me tight, I can't shake him!_ "

" _Hold on kid I'm on my way_."

Several tense seconds passed and Winter flattened her fingers on the edge of the display table, watching the little blip identified only as Red 3. A couple more seconds passed and suddenly the red dot behind his disappeared.

" _Thanks Solo_ ," Biggs said.

" _Just remember you owe me one_."

Winter let out a breath and released her white knuckled grip on the table. A solemn vow formed in her mind. If Biggs did indeed survive this battle and came back to her. She would kill him for putting her through this level of stress.

* * *

" _Please tell me you've come up with a plan by now_ ," Leia said through the comm. " _That Death Star is getting a lot bigger._ "

"A plan… yes…" Obi-wan said, his eyes roamed over the expanse of the Death Star. "Well it would be best to attempt to circle around away from the battle, from there we'll board and rescue Luke."

" _Oh, just like that_?" Leia said.

"Yes just like…" Obi-wan started but the words caught in his throat as a tremor in the Force hit him. Immediately he swung the y-wing to the side and increased the thruster power, aiming them right at the battle he'd just said they'd avoid.

" _What are you doing_?" Leia said.

"Those TIE fighters…" Obi-wan said.

" _Haven't seen us yet_ ," Leia said. " _But if we keep heading that way they'll spot us for sure and we'll have to fight our way to a hanger_."

"No Leia, stretch out with your feelings," Obi-wan said. "Luke isn't on the Death Star, he's down there."

" _What_?"

"Vader," Obi-wan said. "Vader must have put him in a TIE fighter."

" _That's insane that's_ -"

"That's exactly what a Sith would do to earn the loyalty of a young man seeking revenge," Obi-wan said. "Vader must know I would be in this fight and Luke thinks that I killed his father."

The realization caused Obi-wan the briefest of relief. If that was indeed the case, then that meant that in order to earn Luke's loyalty, Vader had not yet revealed his true identity. Luke would not be fully under the dark lord's sway yet. He could be brought back.

"Which one is he in?" Leia said. "I'm trying what you said about sensing them but I'm just getting a jumble of emotions."

"Artoo," Obi-wan said. "Begin scanning the Imperial TIE fighters, when I identify Luke's I want you to keep his ship highlighted in our targeting computer so we'll be able to keep track of him."

" _Watch your back, watch your back Han you've picked one up_!" the chatter came in from the fleetcomm. " _It's coming in fast and angry_."

"Oh no," Obi-wan said. "It's not me he's after…"

* * *

" _This guy's good_ ," Han said over the system. " _Trying to lose him_."

Biggs spun his x-wing around, trying to confirm a visual on Han's ship. A TIE fighter zipped past firing a few stray shots at him but seemed intent on going after another target. All around him blaster fire erupted, each representing either the death or life of the various pilots now weaving over the surface of the Death Star.

" _I'm hit but it's not bad_ ," Han said. " _R5 this is where you earn your keep, get working short stuff._ "

" _Red 6 can you see Red 5_?" Dreis said, trying to direct the battle.

" _It's a heavy fire zone in there I can't see him_!" came the reply. " _Red 5 where are you_?"

Blaster fire crisscrossed space in front of them, making just flying a trick of bobbing and jinxing around. Biggs heart pounded as he searched for Han. They weren't exactly friends but he wasn't about to lose the guy that helped them off the Death Star. Besides, he got the impression the Princess wouldn't like him fried.

Through the bolts of light and fire, Biggs spotted Han's x-wing, spinning and juking about, only to be perfectly followed by the TIE fighter that dogged him. Biggs narrowed his eyes, noticing how the TIE spun and zipped around, somewhat familiar… but no… that was impossible. The Empire had thousands of trained pilots.

" _This guy won't quit_!" Han said. " _Any help here would be… ow! R5 fix the… gonna strafe the surface and try to shake him_."

" _Hold on Han_ ," Wedge said. " _I've got him_."

Biggs spotted Wedge's fighter coming in from above, probably intent on blasting right through the TIE. The TIE pilot would actually get a good look at the fighter that killed him provided that Wedge got there in time. Just as well, Biggs continued his course to aid Han.

" _Darklighter, hello Biggs_ ," a new voice came through the private channel.

"Who is this?" Biggs said.

" _This is Obi-wan Kenobi_ ," the voice said. " _Biggs, that TIE dogging Han. It's Luke!_ "

"What!?" Biggs nearly let go of his controls.

" _Luke is in that fighter trying to blast Han_ ," Obi-wan said. " _We're on our way to help but we won't get there in time! You have to do something before he gets killed_!"

"I'm on it but I don't know if I'll be able to help," Biggs said then activated the general comm. "This is Red 3 to Red 2, Wedge, break off your attack!"

" _I'm almost there_!" Wedge said but his voice broke up a bit with all the magnetic interference from the tubolasers Biggs was crisscrossing to get there.

"Wedge do you hear me?"

" _He's about to get Han_ ," Wedge said. " _Be… ith… oment_ …"

"Blast it!" Biggs cursed and jammed the accelerator, bearing down on the dueling fighters. His mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. Trying to figure out how to let Wedge know not to shoot his friend. But with the comm, acting up he couldn't and Wedge was about to close in on him. He only had one choice.

"Sorry Winter," he muttered, not even sure if his voice carried through the general broadcast or not.

* * *

Lord Vader was right.

Through the Force, Luke could feel Han. He felt the smug confidence, the haughtiness, and even the inklings of fear in the man. Fear that had begun to rise as Luke continued his assault on the smuggler that had killed Mara.

A voice cried for him to stop but Luke ignored it. He'd had everything taken away from him in the last few days. His family, his home, even his friends, and now Mara. He would not let some nagging feeling cheat him from taking at least this small thing back.

" _I command you to stop_!" Vader's voice came through the comm. " _Get back in formation!_ "

"I'm on Han's tail," Luke said, concentrating on trying to score a hit. "You promised me revenge."

" _Now is not the time, get back in formation or I will make you_!"

"Negative," Luke said and flipped the commswitch off.

Han's x-wing twisted past rattling blaster fire of Luke's TIE. The smuggler was good, probably better than Luke, but he wouldn't get away, Luke only had to get a few lucky shots to destroy him. Then he would have avenged Mara, the only person to help him make sense of the Universe since his family died.

Abruptly a warning shot through the Force, even though his experience with it was at best, novice, Luke recognized the sudden feeling of alarm and distress. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up so quickly, that even through the cumbersome flight suit and covering helmet/facemask, Luke couldn't help but notice.

His eyes scanned for the danger and he saw it but far too late.

An x-wing streaked directly at him. He'd come out of nowhere! Luke tried to swerve out of the way but it was too late, another moment and the blast from the other x-wing would reduce him to dust.

The blast came but did not hit.

At the last second, another x-wing flashed in front of both of them. Time seemed to slow down for Luke as the x-wing took the full brunt of the attack meant for him. To his horror, even through the blur of movement, he could see the pilot of the starfighter staring right at him through the viewport. A pilot Luke recognized all too well.

"Biggs!" he shouted but his instincts took over and he veered to the side, knowing the other x-wing was still careening toward them and had been planning on him being nothing but space dust at this point.

Driving his TIE into a tight downward corkscrew, the x-wing zipped past, grazing just the very top of the TIE fighter's vertical panel. Luke managed to get control even as a trio of TIE fighters arrived, one to escort him back to Lord Vader's position, the others to run interference to prevent any further x-wings from attacking him. Still stunned from what just happened, Luke flipped on his commswitch.

" _That was a foolish move boy_ ," Vader's voice came almost immediately. " _You will not get a second chance if you defy me again_."

Luke nodded to himself reflexively but his thoughts were on his friend. Somehow Biggs had known it was Luke and sacrificed himself to save him. X-wings were shielded so there was still a chance that he was alive but the act still shook Luke to the core. That wasn't how the rebels were supposed to act…

* * *

_**You have failed me** _ _._

No! No I haven't! I didn't!

_**You have failed me** _ _._

Please my Master, I tried! I did everything that I could.

_**Lord Vader has the boy, his connection to him has already grown strong. You have failed me.** _

She hesitated, hearing his words from afar as if through a dense fog that clouded everything. Sight, sound, movement, any sense of where she was. Her chest ached and her breathing faint, she fell to her knees, or at least she thought she did.

"You are right my master," she finally said. "Yes, of course you are. I have failed you utterly. I could not deliver the boy."

The Emperor didn't respond. Mara tried to feel him through the void but the distance was too great, or he did not wish for her to feel his presence. She didn't deserve it either. Luke had slipped from her fingers and somehow she knew that Vader had learned of who he truly was. All of her plans were for naught.

"I have failed you Master," Mara said. "There is only one thing left. Claim my life. Let me die."

Again there was no response. Mara would have attempted her own demise if she knew where she was and felt she could move on her own accord. But she felt only… still, as if dreaming and not being able to wake up.

_**No** _ _._

"Please Master! I cannot live having disappointed you!"

 _ **No**_.

"What then? What would you have me do? Are you granting me mercy?"

 _ **The Sith do not have mercy. But for now, I still have use for you. One final task for you to perform as a small token of penance. Do this deed, fulfill my will in this regard and make yourself useful. Only then will I consider letting you die**_.

"Yes my lord," Mara said. "Anything. Anything you wish is my command."

_**Get up. Lord Vader is about to kill you. Get up and do my will.** _

Mara's eyes snapped open. Wherever she was before, she was now back in the medical center. She looked down to find herself lying on a bed, her chest wrapped in clean strips. The bindings did nothing to alleviate the pain from the blaster wound she'd received. Each breath felt like fire. Rather than refusing to pay attention to the pain, Mara focused on it, forced the fire to drive into her and fuel her will.

A med droid appeared with a syringe, instantly Mara knew it to be some sort of poison to be administered to her on the order of Darth Vader. The droid neared and Mara flung herself out of the bed, her chest screaming in pain. Grabbing a tray of medical instruments, Mara flung herself at the droid, bashing first the syringe, then the droid itself with the tray until it lay in a pile of wreckage.

"I… I will not fail you again…" Mara panted through the nausea, the exhaustion, and the pain. "… I will not fail you my Master."

* * *

" _The came at us from behind_!"

Gold Leader's final warning fired through the broadcast and Obi-wan shook his head. He had no doubt that Vader flew in that trench. Vader and possibly Luke too. He just had to hope that the boy didn't participate in the actual attack on those poor pilots. If he was to save him, the guilt of killing innocent men would be a heavy burden.

" _Red boys this is red leader_ ," Commander Dreis said. " _Rendezvous at mark six point one._ "

" _This Red 2 heading toward you_."

" _Red Leader this is Base One_ ," General Dodonna's voice came. " _Keep half of what's left or your group out of range for the next run._ "

" _Copy that Base One_ ," Dreis said. " _Han? Take Red 2. Hold up here and wait for my signal._ "

" _What about Red 3?_ " Han said. " _I still read a functioning signal from his x-wing_."

" _It has to be a glitch_ ," Dreis said. " _Whatever the hell happened to Biggs that made him do that, he's gone now._ "

" _I'm going to do a sweep_ ," Wedge said.

" _Negative_ ," Dreis said. " _Keep yourselves in formation in case my run fails. You're already one wing short_."

Obi-wan rubbed his mustache and activated the general comm. Thus far, apart from contacting Biggs privately, they'd maintained radio silence in case the Empire had sliced their communications. But at this point he knew there was no reason to maintain on to their anonymity.

"Red Leader," he said. "Come in Red Leader."

" _Who is this_?"

"This is Obi-wan Kenobi," he said. "And Princess Organa."

"The Princess?" Han said.

" _Hello_ ," Leia said.

" _Is that you I'm reading from that y-wing_?" Dreis said.

"That is correct commander," Obi-wan said as he maneuvered his ship alongside Han's x-wing. "I'm closing up alongside Solo to form a complete wing unit. Also I can confirm that Red 3 is alive, but only just."

" _I knew it!_ " Han said.

" _Copy that General_ ," Dreis said. " _I'm going in_!"

From their high vantage point they had a clear view of the trench and the x-wings diving into it. Green flashes of turbolaser fire careened at them the moment they entered and then abruptly stopped. The TIE fighters would be there soon.

" _General Kenobi_ ," Dodonna said. " _This is Base One, What are you doing out there? We put a grounding order on you._ "

" _With all due respect General_ ," Leia said. " _There are bigger things going on than a Jedi and a princess stealing a y-wing._ "

" _We should be able to see it by now_ ," Red 7 said from the trench, underscoring Leia's point as the guns firing at them stopped.

" _Keep your eyes open for those fighters_ ," Dreis said.

" _There's too much interference_ ," Red 7 said. " _Red 5 do you see them from where you are?_ "

" _Not so far_ ," Han said. " _Wait… there they are coming in hot from point three five_."

"Luke is with them," Obi-wan muttered.

" _I'm in range_ ," Dreis said.

"Leia," Obi-wan muttered. "Prepare the tow cable, if the attack succeeds we're going to tow Biggs out before it blows."

" _What about Luke_?"

"If it goes he will fly away along with Vader,"

" _Almost there…_ " Dreis said.

Obi-wan tried holding onto hope that the attack would succeed but just as quickly the pilots flying cover for Dreis met a fiery end. Dreis, to his credit stayed on target, letting them know how close he was. Obi-wan fought the temptation to go down there himself but Dreis was doing his job and he had to do his.

" _It's away!_ " Dreis shouted and the twin streams of the proton torpedoes shot out from his x-wing.

The starfighter pulled away and Obi-wan began plotting a course to where he could sense Biggs. The torpedoes appeared to blast into the exhaust port and a brilliant explosion erupted against the gray surface of the Death Star. For a moment it looked like it succeeded.

"It's a hit?" Wedge asked.

" _Negative_ ," Dreis said. " _Negative, it didn't go in. It just impacted on the surface_."

Even as he spoke, Vader's TIE appeared behind and in spite of Han and Wedge's insistence, Dreis kept them on mission. Moments later the x-wing exploded, taking Red Leader with it. It was up to them now. Obi-wan took a breath and eyed the trench, Yavin IV would be in range soon.

" _Alright Kenobi_ ," Han said after a moment. " _You're the one that hustled me into this show. What now?_ "

Obi-wan nodded and tightened his hands on the controls.

"Han, Wedge, form up around me, it appears to be up to us now and we cannot fail."

* * *

"We've analyzed their attack sir," General Bast said. "And there is a danger. We've analyzed their attack sir," General Bast said. "And there is a danger. Shall I have your shuttle standing by?"

Tarkin tore his eyes away from the display and glared the general, hardly believing the words he was hearing. Bast along with Tagge and Motti knew full well the capabilities of this station, yet now they feared the Rebel's attack? Even with Darth Vader flying out there personally eliminating them?

"Evacuate? In our moment of triumph?" Tarkin said. "I think you overestimate their chances."

Bast hesitated for a moment. His eyes went to the screen and the small dots that displayed the fighters. The rebels had eliminated most of the Vader's personal guard, the only TIE's participating in the combat. Standard protocol would have dictated to launch a larger force but Tarkin and Motti believed the Death Star so fortified that they were content to let the surface lasers do the job.

"At the very least we ought to launch more fighters, should Lord Vader fail," Bast said.

"And now you underestimate Lord Vader, he will deal with these rebels and you will see that this so called 'danger' was nothing to worry about."

"On the contrary Governor Tarkin…" a haggard female voice came from across the room. All eyes shot to the lean figure in the doorway. A few blaster bolts erupted from the shadow and the nearby guards met their end. "… you should have headed your technicians warnings."

"Who are… Jade?"

Mara Jade lurched forward, like some horrid specter. Her hair, disheveled, hung over half her face. Her skin matched the white hue of stormtrooper armor. And dark lines painted the underside of her eyes. Most distressing of all were the blood stains from her not yet healed blaster wound on her chest.

"You're coming with me Governor," Mara said.

"Oh? And to where may I ask?" Tarkin said.

"Just as Bast wanted, to your ship, by order of the Emperor you're to come with me."

"No," Tarkin said. "I think not I-"

He never finished the sentence. A stunbolt fired out and hit him square in the chest. Bast looked around, spotting the weapon of one of the guards lying on the ground but it lay too far off. If he went for it this Jade woman could easily blast him into dust.

"Have one of your men pick him up," she ordered. "We have a ship to get to."

"What… what about our orders to destroy the rebel moon?"

"Carry them out," Mara said. "The moment the Death Star clears the planet."

* * *

Very little of the battle above reached the bowels of the Death Star. Most of the impacts from the rebel attacks only affected the surface guns and crew decks. In other parts, the detention level for example, only the general alarm let them know they were under attack.

That wasn't to say they felt none of the effects of the assault. One blast in particular shook much of the station. Unknown to most it was the proton torpedo blast from Red Leader. While it hadn't set off the chain reaction meant to destroy the station, it did manage to do one thing.

As the station shook under the assault, one man, not knowing the exact cause, heard the audible click on his cell door, informing him that the lock had disengaged. The blast, whatever the cause from his point of view, had created a temporary power disruption, one that he intended to use to his full advantage.

His joints ached slightly as he got up but he ignored it as he approached the door. First he hit the open switch, but it didn't respond. Rather figuring that would be the case, he let out a sigh then pressed his hands flat on the door and lifted.

After a few moments of grunting, he got it to lift enough to move his foot underneath. Then he hooked his fingers below and with a heave, threw the door open. His chest burned with the exertion and his breaths fired out in heavy bursts but he almost grinned at his success.

Wasting no more time he ran down the corridor until he found a pair of stormtroopers standing guard. Before they could react, he latched onto the blaster of one and fired it at the other. The battle was over within seconds and he quickly dressed himself in their armor.

A sense of urgency prevailed on his every thought. Not simply because he just broke out of prison. Or that, for the first time in his life, he was blatantly going against the ones responsible for his very existence. Those certainly played a part but what really drove him to rush through the corridors of the Death Star was the creeping knowledge that somehow, the Rebels would be successful and this station was going to go soon.

Coming up on the ship he intended to steal, he approached the stormtroopers guarding it. Dressed in their armor they didn't think much of him. He nodded to himself, knowing that it would be the easiest thing to keep the ruse going but he'd spent the last few years of his life pretending he was one of them.

Just a few feet away he pulled off his helmet and tossed it into the pit. Letting the stormtroopers see it. Apparently they recognized him from before because they leveled their blasters at them. He opened fire first, catching the closest one in the chest, causing him to fall over the other one.

"What… what are you doing?" the stormtrooper said, trying to get his dead comrade off of him. "We're on the same side!"

"No," Cody said, pumping a blaster bolt into the stormtrooper. "You're not my brothers."

* * *

" _We're going to have to go in full throttle if we want to keep those fighters off our tail_ ," Han said.

"Agreed," Obi-wan said, kicking on the accelerator and aiming the craft at the trench. The old y-wing's inertial dampeners took a moment to hit them and the passengers felt themselves pushed harder against the seats.

" _Right behind you boss_ ," Wedge said.

R2 let out a noise that sounded like a cross between an excited whistle and a terrified scream. Green streams of laser fire shot up at them and Obi-wan dipped the starfighter up to avoid taking a blast before leveling out above the trench's surface. Half a second later Han and Wedge joined him, appearing just behind his fighter next to one another.

" _This y-wing is going to have a hard time keeping up with those x-wings if things get dicey,_ " Leia said.

" _I could have told you that sweetheart_ ," Han answered before Obi-wan could. " _Don't worry, we'll watch your back._ "

" _How comforting_ ," Leia muttered. " _Now I feel completely safe racing down this trench of death._ "

"Perhaps there is a more appropriate time for such banter," Obi-wan said, furrowing his brows as he concentrated on the trench and the blaster fire that raced at them.

" _My scope shows the tower but not the exhaust port_ ," Wedge said. " _Are you sure the computer can hit it_?"

"I won't be relying on the computer," Obi-wan said. "Watch yourselves though, increase speed."

" _What do you mean you won't be using the computer_?" Wedge said. " _How will you be able to distinguish your target from the tower_?"

"Concentrate on the fighters," Obi-wan said. "I shall worry about the tower."

One of the blasts managed a glancing blow on the y-wing, knocking the slightly to the side. Obi-wan leaned his arms against the controls in an attempt to stabilize. Before he could give the order, Leia already had her comm activated.

" _Artoo the stabilizer's loose see what you can do with it_ ," she said.

Even as the tiny droid beeped an affirmative the guns stopped. Obi-wan took a deep breath and reached out with the Force. They already knew the pattern by now, the TIE fighters would be just behind them. Vader and Luke would be among them.

Sure enough, recognition flashed through the Force. For the briefest of instances, Obi-wan connected with his old apprentice, feeling the ever present hate and determination rolling off of him. After being defeated by Obi-wan yet again back in the hanger, Vader would no doubt want to ensure his own victory this time.

And there was still Luke, only this time, something felt different. The anger he'd been feeding off of was drowning in a sea of confusion and grief. Had the boy realized what he had done? What was going on?

" _Fighters coming in_ ," Wedge said. " _Point three_!"

No sooner did he make the announcement than did laser fire lance out at him. Obi-wan tried to focus on the task ahead of him but the alarm coming from Wedge threw off his concentration for just a moment.

" _I'm hit_ ," he said. " _I can't stay with you_!"

" _Get yourself clear then_ ," Leia said. " _You can't do any more good back there_."

"Sorry!"

Wedge pulled away. In an earlier time Obi-wan may have insisted that the lad stay and do his job, but after acknowledging the sheer amount of lives wasted in the Clone Wars for absolutely nothing… he wasn't about to make that mistake again. Which left them in a precarious situation, the x-wings behind them were supposed to fly cover, give Obi-wan enough time to make the shot while they forced the Empire to waste shots trying to hit them rather than him.

Han was good but Obi-wan didn't know if he was good enough to hold back both Vader and Luke. Was Obi-wan willing to waste Captain Solo's life in the pursuit of the goal? Was this the reason he'd felt the need to include the smuggler in the mission?

" _I'll keep them off you_ ," Han said. " _Just make it quick_!"

" _Watch yourself Han_!" Leia said.

Through the comm they heard the blaster fire around Han's fighter.

" _Three to one_ ," Han said. " _Bad odds, I'm going to do something about it_."

"Wait!" Obi-wan said but it was too late.

* * *

It was Han and Kenobi ahead of them. Luke felt it. But he felt little else. He had flown almost reflexively as soon as he realized he killed Biggs. He formed up alongside Vader and the other TIE fighter, he thought it was Topelli himself. He stayed there and watched as the servants of the Empire he flew with destroyed the rebel fighter groups running the trench.

He'd neither fired at them nor had he stopped them from being killed and he felt sick to his stomach. Sick enough that the automatic sensors took notice in his flight suit pumped more oxygen into his breath mask.

Biggs was dead at his hands.

Even through their brief confrontations at the star port on Mos Eisely, or in the Death Star detention area, he never felt his friend meant him ill will. It was Mara and the Empire that tried to convince him otherwise. They were the ones that told him that the Rebellion killed his family.

Yet Biggs had sacrificed himself so Luke could live. He did so even after Luke hadn't believed him that the Empire was responsible for what happened.

That didn't add up.

" _That is Solo ahead of us_ ," Vader said. " _Destroy him Luke_!"

Luke's thumbs hovered over the firing switches as he eyed Han's x-wing. Whether Biggs told the truth or not, Han had killed Mara. The ache in Luke's chest demanded he fire again and end Solo's life. Vader's words echoed in his ears insisting he did exactly that.

Then to Luke's surprise, the s-foils on Han's fighter closed up. His thumbs began pressing down on the switches but then Han's x-wing abruptly stopped, or at least it seemed to. The three TIE's suddenly raced at a fighter in what would be a deadly collision.

" _Break off formation_!" Vader ordered.

The three TIE's split in three directions and still would have hit the x-wing if it hadn't angled its wings to sail between the gaps they made. As it was, they blew past the rebel fighter, only to have their sensors indicate it reopening its s-foils. Ready to attack them.

" _Clever trick_ ," Vader said as Solo opened fire on them.

Topelli's fighter erupted in flame and expanding gas and suddenly Luke's own fighter had blaster fire surrounding it from behind. Vader maneuvered his fighter just behind Luke's soaking up the turbo laser bolts with the shields of his modified TIE. Luke's eyes went to the y-wing up ahead. He could end it right there and there. Solo would likely break off if Kenobi was taken out.

" _Destroy Kenobi_!" Vader shouted. " _Destroy him Luke. He killed your father_."

Just as Luke was about to fire, shots rained out from above. Luke's eyes went up and saw as an imperial shuttle roared from above, blasting at Han's x-wing. A familiar presence fired out through the Force. Someone he thought to be dead.

"Mara!" he said.

" _This is for the blaster shot Solo_!" her voice came through the comm, and Han's x-wing exploded in a flash of light. Luke thought he saw a blur of movement just before the explosion but he forced his eyes ahead. The facts of the situation wore down on his mind, shutting everything else out.

Mara was alive…

Biggs was dead.

Vader had lied to him.

" _You're all clear, now hurry up and take out Kenobi…_ " Mara's voice came out harsh and cruel through the speaker. "… _So the Death Star can destroy that moon_!"

 _Destroy_ it?

" ** _Luke, Fire on Kenobi! End this_**! **_It is your destiny_**!"

* * *

The moment they read Han's ship explode, Leia engaged the rotating ion canon of the y-wing and attempted to blast the shuttle up above, trying desperately to strike back at the ship that took a very good man from them. But the angle was all wrong and her shots went wild.

Her readout had told her that Han may have ejected at the last moment but he would still be dead. X-wing flight suits came equipped with optional masks to protect against the vacuum of space but the limited oxygen would only last a few minutes at best and no one was there to pick him up.

" _Leia_ ," Obi-wan said. " _Leia I have to make the shot! You have to protect our back. Don't let Han's sacrifice be in vain!_ "

After firing a couple more stray shots, Leia nodded and fought back the emotion. The Alliance needed them to carry out this mission no matter the cost. The last chance was here and now. The Death Star would have cleared the planet at any time. They could be firing this very moment.

Leia brought the guns down to bear on the fighters behind them but only then, as she stared at them blazing at her, did she realize it was too late. The modified TIE fighter, no doubt belonging to Darth Vader himself, reassumed the lead and opened fire. In a flash of fire and energy, the back portion of their y-wing blew. One bolt struck R2 and the droid let out a final wail.

" _Oh no… no_!" Obi-wan's voice came.

" _Kenobi, this is Base One, take the shot_!"

" _I can't, that blast has fried my instruments, I've lost firing control and nearly all maneuvering capacity I… Leia. Transferring primary control to Leia Organa_."

"What?" Leia said, even as the automatic transfer of flight control flipped her position around so she was facing forward again. The TIE's bore down behind them all the while and she gripped the controls just in time to avoid another barrage of turbolaser fire. But the blasts came not just from behind but not just from behind. Above them the shuttle pelted the trench with its own fire as well.

" _We're almost within range_ ," Obi-wan said. " _You must take the shot_."

A protest formed in Leia's mouth but she swallowed it back. No choice. Not now. No time to argue. She activated the targeting computer and saw the target closing in, just a few more seconds. Her hands quivered as she thought of the consequences of missing at this point, or the great possibility that they were about to be vaporized from behind.

" _ **Use the Force Leia**_ ," Obi-wan's voice suddenly came, but it sounded distant yet near, as though it almost came from within her own mind. As if he was reaching out to her in a way he couldn't from the comm-system. " _ **Leia, let go. Trust me**_."

A shiver ran up Leia's spine as she nodded and disengaged the targeting computer. After readjusting her grip on the controls she reached out like she had in her training exercises on the _Falcon._ She sensed Obi-wan in front of her, encouraging her, further on she _felt_ the target.

" _Princess Leia_ ," Base One said. " _You've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong_?"

"Nothing," Leia said. "I'm alright."

The starfighter shifted around in the trench and Leia tried to concentrate on her target, to feel it rather than see it as she had the remote. Another blast of turbo lasers came and the craft shook, throwing off Leia's concentration. Straightening themselves out she tried to continue the focus but felt it slip the moment the warning light came on indicating a target lock had just been painted on their fighter.

But before Vader could fire, the TIE fighter beside him suddenly decelerated to just behind and blasted his ship. Leia could hardly believe the readouts but heard Obi-wan cheer Luke's name. Luke had turned on Darth Vader.

In an effort to avoid Skywalker's turbolasers, Vader abruptly pulled up, only to have his ship collide with the shuttle above the trench and be flung out into space by the inertia. Luke's TIE roared up behind theirs then pulled out of the trench to attack the shuttle.

Another set of blaster fire joined his as to Leia's disbelieving eyes, the J-type Nubian star skiff they'd flown in on appeared and opened fire on the shuttle. Between the TIE and the star skiff the shuttle pilot must have thought better of the situation and zipped off. Leia's comm, crackled and a familiar voice appeared.

" _Yeehoooo_!" Han Solo shouted as the shuttle broke off. " _Miss me sweetheart? Someone picked me up after I ejected! Now let's blow this thing so we can all go home_!"

No sooner did she hear Han's words than did she let out a deep breath and fired the torpedoes. The Force sang out in her mind and she felt something like a smile force itself onto her lips. Without seeing it, she felt the torpedoes hit their mark to travel down the exhaust port.

Pulling her starfighter out of the trench she aimed it at Yavin Base and jammed the accelerator.

" _This is Commander Cody_ ," a voice came from the starskiff that sounded very much like Boba Fett's. " _Match our vector. Darklighter, Solo, and myself will fly escort._ "

" _Cody_?" Obi-wan said as Luke's TIE fighter and Wedge's X-wing also joined them.

No sooner did they get clear of the space station then a warning erupted in the Force a split second before the Death Star behind them blew. A massive ring like shockwave that rocked all of space around it shot out amid cheers over the communit. Tears streamed down Leia's face as she tried to focus on breathing and believing that they'd finally, actually succeeded.

" _Great shot sweetheart that was one in a million_!" Han said.

" _ **Remember**_ ," Obi-wan's voice came in a warm tone and Leia finally got her breathing under control. " _ **The Force will be with you, always**_."


	21. A New Dawn

There was barely room to land the starfighter when they arrived back at the hanger. Not with the technicians, soldiers, engineers, and council leaders crowding into the hanger to cheer the heroes welcome. Leia maneuvered the starfighter in to the position signaled to her and slipped off her helmet. They'd made it back.

The crowd roared ever louder when the canopy to their y-wing popped open and Leia and Obi-wan immerged. Her face scanned the throng of allies for friends and she quickly slid down the ladder. A moment later Obi-wan hopped down and she wasted no time embracing him.

He squeezed her back, a big broad smile playing on his face. No longer the stoic Jedi Knight; for at least this moment, she knew he was relishing their victory. Or probably more likely, the fact that they'd all made it.

Fellow rebels swelled in the crowd to shake their hands and pat their backs. For her part, Leia knew she should be attempting her usual role of the demure princess but as elated as she was, she just vigorously shook the hands of anyone that offered and constantly fought the urge to laugh for the sheer hell of it.

Then a voice broke through the crowd and a tall man with a battered and somewhat crispy flightsuit charged through. Han grabbed onto her and she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands around her neck as he embraced her.

"I told you I'd have your back sweetheart!" he said.

"I never doubted you!" Leia laughed as they broke apart. Han slipped past h er and wrapped an arm around Obi-wan, laughing in shared camaraderie.

Biggs showed up just behind Han and more embraces were shared. Then the crowd parted wide for a Chewbacca, charging in a full on wookiee bulrush. The wookiee howled in excitement before scooping Han up and holding him high in the air like he was some sort of child.

"Easy Easy Chewie!" Han said. "I told you there was nothing to worry about!"

Another flurry of movement caught Leia's eye but by the time she followed it, Winter had Biggs wrapped in her arms and her lips planted on the pilot's own. Obi-wan let out a chuckle and Leia found her hand covering her mouth in astonishment. Stern and stoic Winter doing something like that?

Finally they broke apart and pulled away, blush covered Winter's cheeks and her eyes darted to the side as she attempted to recover her usual demeanor. Biggs grinned widely and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"So you're saying you're glad I made it?" he finally said.

"Oh do shut up!" Winter said but the corners of her mouth kept quirking up. "And you'll need to shave if you ever expect that to happen again."

Maybe out of happiness to see her friend again, or out of a desire to spare her further embarrassment, Leia grabbed onto Winter's hand and pulled her away; hugging her childhood companion tightly. Then before she knew it, Chewie appeared behind her and grabbed nearly the whole group in his massive arms and pulling them into some sort of wookiee group hug. Even Obi-wan didn't escape!

The crowd parted again and two more figures appeared. Suddenly the rush of their victory ebbed somewhat as they looked on them. Unlike the rest, they seemed rather uncertain and doubtful. Something completely understandable given the circumstances.

Luke Skywalker stood next to the clone commander known as Cody. The clone kept his eyes on Kenobi, more determination than doubt showing in his features. But Luke looked truly out of place, and not simply because of his TIE fighter flight suit sans the flightmask and helmet.

"Hello," he said, his eyes darting from Han and then to Obi-wan. Even without the Force, Leia could sense the uncertainty rolling off of him. "I guess I have a lot to explain…"

Then Biggs broke off from the group and ran to his friend. Without a word he clasped his arms around him and a smile actually broke onto Luke's face.

"This man fought off Darth Vader himself and saved Kenobi and the Princess!" Biggs called out. "Let's hear it for Luke Skywalker!"

Not needing any further motivation, the crowd bellowed enthusiastically and Biggs guided Luke over to the group. Winter greeted him politely as did Leia herself, even thanking him for what he had done, knowing how hard it must have been.

Then Luke found himself standing before Han.

The two men stared at one another. For a moment Leia feared it might turn ugly, especially with Chewbacca hanging just behind Han, slightly glowering at Luke as he approached. But Luke swallowed hard and met Han's eyes.

"I'm sorry Han," Luke said. "They all lied to me. I thought you killed Mara."

Slowly Han nodded then held out his hand. Luke eyed the hand doubtfully before taking it and the two exchanged a firm handshake.

"I'd have to hate the entire galaxy if I hated everyone that had ever tried to kill me," Han said as his lopsided grin reappeared. "Just don't let it happen again."

Luke smiled and cast his eyes over the group, knowing some had accepted him and others may never do so. But he looked infinitely more relieved than he had mere moments earlier. At least until his gaze drifted to Obi-wan.

The Jedi Master didn't approach Luke. He didn't try to get answers out of him or apologies or anything. Perhaps Obi-wan knew that Luke had already been through more than anybody could ask of him in the last few hours. Maybe he simply didn't want to make a scene. But either way he favored Luke with a courteous nod, one that Luke reluctantly returned.

And that was enough for now.

The group fell into a general merriment, only paused when C-3PO arrived and saw the condition of R2. Leia herself felt a tremor of fear for her little companion but the technicians seemed confident they could repair him. C-3PO offered to donate his own parts or circuits in the effort to repair the little droid.

Together, the group left the hanger with the cheers from their allies accompanying them. For the first time since she had stolen the design schematics of the Death Star and sent a message to Obi-wan, proclaiming him to be her 'only hope' Leia finally felt that hope for herself.

And as she left the room, she thought she heard gentle laughter coming from around her. Laughter that sounded like it could have come from a long dead Jedi Master. She eyed Obi-wan but he didn't seem to notice Qui-gon's voice at all. She would be sure to share it with him someday.

* * *

The techs were putting the finishing touches on R2. Most of the carbon scoring had been scraped clean and fresh parts had been inserted replaced. They wouldn't know if the little droid was fully operational until they switched him back on, but thankfully the repairs had gone well enough for them to be optimistic. Leia and Luke were set to come by soon to see for themselves. But besides them only one remained to watch the work on the astromech.

The golden droid stood silently vigilant, pacing every now and again in front of the window that separated him from the shop and his counterpart. For droids to have such a strong connection was rare, most went through memory wipes frequent enough that they had to be reintroduced by the time they really got to know each other.

But no one was going to memory wipe the protocol droid any time soon. Not if Boba Fett had anything to do with it.

The bounty hunter stalked over to the golden droid, casting his eyes about for any onlookers. Most everyone else appeared to be occupied, getting ready for the award ceremony. Funny how Boba was the one that first sprung the Princess out of the Empire's hands but they weren't giving him a medal. Not that he wanted one. Right now the droid had everything he wanted.

"Oh! Boba Fett," the droid said, alarm creeping into his voice as soon as he saw the bounty hunter. "I'm… I'm afraid that I can't help you. I have to remain here until I know that they've reactivated Artoo."

"That's alright," Boba said. "I'm not here to talk to you. I'm here to talk to the other guy."

"I beg your pardon?" Threepio looked around. "The only two in this room is you and I. What other guy?"

"Shut up," Boba took another step closer to the droid. "I know you can hear me."

"Now there's no reason to be rude!" Threepio said but held his arms up defensively when Boba advanced toward him again. "I have no idea who you think you're talking to! If you'll just look around you'll see…"

The droid's voice faded off and his photoreceptor's blinked before adopting a crimson light. Boba crossed his arms and waited as the one he really wanted to talk to became fully activated. In the future he was going to do some research on whatever method the other droid had used to insert his programming into the protocol droid's.

"Query: Why have you decided to bother me, mandalorian?" HK-47 said with his trademark static-filled hissy voice.

"I'm altering our deal," Boba said. "These rebels are never going to trust me and I've got better things to do than try and earn their favor. Especially once Vader realizes I'm not working for him anymore."

"Statement: You are in a very poor position to alter our arrangement," HK-47 said. "We agreed that you would work for the Alliance for a year in order to get your ex-wife out of carbon freeze."

"I could blast you right now and track her down myself," Boba said.

"Statement: You are most welcome to try, but I guarantee that you'll never find her without my help," HK-47 said. "Suggestion: You would do well to find more constructive uses of your time rather than pose idle threats at me."

"I could tell the rest of them here about you," Boba said, gesturing at the techs. "Kenobi would have you removed from the protocol droid's memory and downloaded onto a data crystal without a second's thought."

"Rebuttal: Which would leave you exactly where you would be if you blasted me," HK-47 said. "Your only choice is to honor our arrangement."

"Well I can't like this," Boba hissed. "Gaining their trust will take time, meanwhile I have jobs to do."

"Resignation: Oh very well," HK-47 seemed to sigh. "It would appear that your own reputation will make things very difficult. Statement: We can amend the deal. You will be free to work freelance all you want, provided you continually offer your services to the Rebel Alliance. Even working pro-bono if you have to, to gain their trust. Furthermore, you will not take contracts that actively harm the Alliance."

"Pro-bono?" Boba said. "You do know that most my jobs come from the Empire right?"

"Answer: And now they'll come from the Rebel Alliance," HK-47 said. "Addendum: Since I am allowing for you to work freelance, thus obtaining jobs elsewhere besides the Alliance, the timeframe of our agreement will have to be extended. Your service will now last three years."

"Three years!" Boba almost charged at the droid. "No karking way I'm working for them for three years!"

"Statement: Those are the terms. I have already made my concessions, they are the only way you will ever see Sintas alive again," the droid said.

"And see Windu dead," Boba narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I forgot about that other part."

"Statement: Of course I didn't forget."

"You still haven't offered me any proof that he's alive."

"Statement: And for all you know, he's not," HK-47 said. "Conjecture: Imagine if you will, how did Mace Windu's lightsaber come to be in G0-T0's possession? It was lost on Coruscant when he dueled Darth Sidious."

"But if he's still alive," Boba said. "Then why hasn't he surfaced during all of this time. Why wasn't I able to find him?"

"Clarification: I suggested the Jedi was alive," HK-47 said. "Not that he was well. Query: Are we done now?"

Boba glared at the droid, knowing it couldn't see under his helmet but it didn't matter. The droid might as well have been press-ganging him into the service. It had taken Boba years to garner the reputation he had as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. If he had been able to go through with his original plan to deliver the rebel's hidden base to the Empire, he would be the most renowned of all.

Now all his plans went straight out the airlock.

"Fine," Boba said. "But I swear that if I find a lead on Sintas and Windu, you'll find our agreement changing very quickly."

"Statement: We shall see."

"And what about you? How will I know that the next time I want to talk to you that you'll still be shaking up in the protocol droid's head or if you've put yourself in an R2 unit?"

"Answer: Put myself in a maintenance droid? How dare you! I'm not some sort of barbarian!" The droid actually advanced on Boba as if to threaten him. "Digression: For the time being, it suits me to remain in the protocol droid. Their rather ubiquitous nature across the Galaxy will allow me to serve my primary function of assassin much better than in my original body. At least for the time being. The Princess will soon find her list of enemies growing mysteriously shorter."

A chill ran up Boba's back. He didn't much fear this droid but even he couldn't deny the effectiveness such a droid would have in assassination while wearing a protocol droid suit. Still, he kept such thoughts to himself, no sense in betraying himself to the droid.

"Advisement: Don't bother me again unless it's very important. You'll find that even a protocol droid can be deadly when being… handled by the right driver. Until next time, meatbag."

With that, the droid's photoreceptors flickered back to their usual bright color and C-3PO once again asserted himself. He looked up at Boba and instantly a hand came up, almost as if trying to gain some sort of authority.

"Now as I was saying, there's no one else here but you and I. If you continue to threaten me this way I will be forced to call security!"

Boba sneered under his helmet but said nothing. Turning around and heading out the way he came he made a silent vow to disintegrate the droid someday. Whether or not it still had the HK-47 programming in it.

* * *

The ceremony was drawing near and yet Obi-wan wanted nothing more than to continue sitting upon the top of the ziggurat. From there he felt the life teaming on the surface of Yavin's moon and felt closer to the Force.

Odd for a place that thousands of years ago saw the genocide of an entire race just so a vile Sith Lord could attempt to cheat death.

Yet Exar Kun's evil had been stopped here on Yavin because of a diverse group of Jedi, spacers, patriots, and even traitors. Perhaps things did not change all that much. A very similar group, one that Obi-wan now belonged to, halted the Empire's evil here too.

A lesson to take to heart.

As Obi-wan felt the Living Force, swaying through the jungles below, his thoughts turned to his masters, Yoda and Qui-gon. Surely none of them foresaw this. Obi-wan certainly never did. When he started his exile all those years ago, years he now had no memory of, he envisioned staying on Tatooine until he was old and gray.

But the Force, it seemed, had other plans for him.

With the immediate crisis over, and given Obi-wan's part in stopping it, the generals and councilors of the Alliance now enthusiastically offered him a spot in their ranks. They wanted him to be General Kenobi once again; the famed Negotiator of the Grand Army of the Republic.

The problem was, Obi-wan remembered all too well what that was like. The mantle of leadership always weighed heavy on his shoulders. As a general, as a Jedi Master, as a member of the Jedi Counsel, in every case he would have preferred to be sitting in a cave or atop a temple meditating.

But that was never his lot and he knew now that he had no choice but to step up to his destiny yet again. But he would not let others determine what that destiny entailed. He had just spent nearly twenty years frozen in a slab due to the whims of someone else.

"General Kenobi," a familiar voice came. So deep had Obi-wan been in his mediations that he hadn't felt the man's approach.

Slowly he stood but continued to stare down at the dense canopy of forest below. He sensed the man's determination but also the doubt and fear. Not surprising given what he had given up to be on this temple.

"Cody," Obi-wan said as the clone stepped up alongside him. "I rather thought we would be having this conversation sooner rather than later."

"Never been one to sit around when there was something that needed doing sir," Cody said. "So I suppose there's no sense in ignoring the bantha in the room. I tried to kill you per the Emperor's orders."

"Yes," Obi-wan said. "Thankfully you failed."

"Always knew that I did," Cody said. "They never said killing Jedi was easy, only that we had to."

"Because you were loyal to the Chancellor," Obi-wan said.

"Because we were loyal to the Republic," Cody said and Obi-wan looked at him finally, only to see the weathered face staring off into the forest. "We were told that good soldiers followed orders, that they don't question authority, and the highest authority told us that the Jedi were traitors. We did our duty."

"And what now then," Obi-wan said. "This certainly doesn't fall within the parameters of your orders."

"I've had twenty long years to think, reflect, and fight," Cody said. "And I've finally learned that a good soldier knows what and who he's fighting for. I was bred and trained to fight for the Republic. It's gone now, so are most my brothers. Now I want to fight to bring down what took them away from me."

"Destroying the Empire won't bring the Grand Army of the Republic back," Obi-wan said.

"No, but it will make me feel real good," Cody said with a sardonic smile but then his features straightened and he stood at attention. "It will also feel good to serve under someone that I know sees me as more than a test tube. That's how you Jedi always treated us."

"Unfortunately that's not true," Obi-wan said. "Too often we didn't consider what the cost was in our battles, you've learned to question authority… I believe that we all must do so as well. I should have fought less and questioned more."

"Then my question to you is, may I come back into your service General Kenobi?"

Obi-wan eyed the clone. A man, who the last he saw had attempted to kill him mere moments after sharing a joke. A man bred and trained to serve the Emperor to his dying breath, but also a man that had lived every one of the years that Obi-wan had missed and came out better for it.

"I don't know if I will still be a General," Obi-wan said. "I think given your level of experience I could offer you the job."

"I move men and metal sir," Cody said. "Not symbols on a map. Just give me a squad I can train and I'll be content."

"Actually," Obi-wan said. "I have a more important job for you. At least until I actually have a commission to offer you."

….

"The work crew got the new hyperdrive installed?"

"Yeah, amazing how quickly they can get repairs done when someone throws their weight around"

"Well after you made it clear that getting underway was a priority," Leia said with her arms crossed. "It really wasn't that hard to allocate the resources to fix this old ship. I'm just happy to see her back in one piece."

Leia, Han, and Luke all stared at the J-type Nubian Starskiff, one of the last links Leia had to her home. It was after all, one of the official ships of the Royal Family of Alderaan. A royal family that now consisted entirely of Leia.

It would take her a long time to ever fully come to grips with what she lost, but for now, being surrounded by friends and having her Jedi training to look forward to helped. Part of that training she knew meant letting go of attachments; which made this decision obvious if not necessarily easy.

"You sure about this kid?" Han said. "It's a rough Galaxy out there."

Chewie descended the ramp, having been inspecting the repairs and muttered an agreement.

"I know," Luke said. "And I can't wait to see more of it."

Around them the hanger lay relatively deserted, save for the techs that had finished with the repairs on the starskiff and now moved onto working on the Falcon. Even though the starskiff wasn't leaving just yet, Leia made sure to take it all in. There was no telling when she would see it again.

"You're sure about me taking it?" Luke said. "I could always just leave with a transport and find my way from there."

"There are more than enough ships here for my needs," Leia said. "But if you really want to see the Galaxy then you'll need a ship. Unless of course I can persuade you to come with us, you'll get more than your share of travel then."

Luke shook his head. "Not yet. All my life my Uncle Owen tried to make me into a moisture farmer. Mara tried to make me into a puppet for the Emperor, and Vader wanted to make me his servant. If I stay…"

"Obi-wan will want to make you a Jedi," Leia said but her eyes locked onto Qui-gon's lightsaber still clipped to Luke's belt. "It seems that's what you want."

"Not from him," Luke said. "But there have to me more Jedi out there. Jedi that I can trust beyond a shadow of a doubt. I'm going to find them. That's the destiny I choose for myself."

"But you do know our offer stands," Biggs said, walking around a parked x-wing to get to them. Winter followed just behind. The space jockey smiled widely, a smile now more visible without his mustache. "You'll always have a place in the Alliance."

"I know Biggs," Luke nodded. "And once I find a Jedi Master I will return to you guys."

"You have our comm-codes," Han said. "You get into too much trouble you call us."

"I will," Luke said, his sparkling bright eyes faded somewhat as he looked across the hanger and saw Obi-wan walking toward them along with Cody.

"He's a good man," Leia said.

"Maybe," Luke nodded. "But I won't take anyone's word for it. Not anymore."

"Well then it seems that during our trip I will have to convince you otherwise," Winter said. "I assume my quarters are prepared."

"I still can't believe they assigned you to go with him," Han shook his head.

"With Kenobi's resurfacing," Winter said. "And there is always the possibility that G0-T0 had more Jedi than he told us. Command thinks it will be valuable to see if we can't find and recruit more."

"Besides," Biggs said. "Someone has to watch over the ship. Luke's good but he's likely to fly the thing into an asteroid field just to impress a lady."

"Funny," Winter said. "That seems like a stunt you would pull."

"Depends, would you be impressed?"

"Suicide is hardly impressive."

"We'll see about that," Biggs crooked a smile.

Han laughed and shook his head. "You got a lot to learn about women kid."

"And someone like you does?" Leia eyed him.

"Maybe," Han said with his own crooked grin, one that seemed to fit him much better than the smile Biggs had attempted. "You'll have to let me know later."

"Of all the-" Leia started but a beeping from her comlink fired off and she could only shake her head and Solo's comment. She would have the entire award ceremony to think up a come back.

Before they could leave, Cody appeared and approached Luke. He actually wore a smile, something that almost seemed out of place on his mouth, especially in contrast with his scarred and worn features.

"Skywalker," He said. "I hear you're going on a trip. You got room for one more?"

Luke crooked a grin of his own and nodded. "Glad to have you aboard Cody."

* * *

The great Throne room had perhaps never seen such a gathering. Certainly it hadn't in well over a couple thousand years. Yet now it sat filled with the men, women, and sentients that counted themselves as members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Many wore dress uniforms, though most simply wore their regular issued attire. A soldier's uniform or a technicians outfit. Though even then they made the effort to have them cleaned and pressed as best they could. Moments to celebrate when on the run from the Empire were few and far between after all.

Upon the raised dais stood the generals and members of the security council. They of course wore crisp uniforms. But even with such finery, they hardly stood out. Not when the leader of the Alliance herself stood in a fine all snow-white dress.

After hearing about the victory over the Death Star, Mon Mothma herself had flown in. Of course rumors that Obi-wan Kenobi fired the fateful shot didn't hurt deciding the matter as to whether or not the senior statesperson of the Alliance would show. If for nothing else to see it for herself.

With all of the hustle and bustle before the ceremony, Obi-wan had not yet had time to meet with her but had no doubt they would have a conversation afterward. They had been little more than acquaintances during the Clone Wars but Bail always spoke well of her and he knew her to be on the short list of politicians he more or less trusted.

Obi-wan kept his eyes on her as they walked down the aisle created between the mass of officers and technicians standing in formation. Leia kept pace on his side, dressed in an exquisite white gown herself. Han Solo, being ever the rogue he was, still wore his trademark smuggler's attire. Not that clothes made the man. Something Obi-wan had insisted before Leia had the Alliance fabricate him a new Jedi Robe.

She still won out and now he appeared before them a proper Jedi. His only hope was that he could show Luke, walking besides Biggs, that in every aspect, the Jedi were not a threat. At the very least the boy had accepted the help of the Alliance.

The medals were passed out one by one. Obi-wan couldn't help but notice that after Leia received hers, she glanced at Han, who fired her a wink. He tried to push away the thoughts of the eventual conversation he might have to have about attachment with her as Mon Mothma presented the medal to him.

Off in the corner he noticed Boba Fett skulking, his small frame leaning against a pillar and his arm crossed. Almost begrudgingly, the bounty hunter gave a slow nod in Obi-wan's direction, or maybe it was to Leia who was also looking at him. Either way one of them had apparently earned his respect.

The heroes presented themselves to the Alliance and the chamber erupted in applause. Obi-wan's thoughts didn't dwell on the current hero worship, or on what lay ahead in the immediate future. Instead his thoughts turned to a short conversation he'd had with Leia before the ceremony.

"What will happen now?" she had asked him.

"Now?" Obi-wan said. "Now everything changes. The Empire will most assuredly strike back. Their vengeance will be swift, but it will not matter. Not now that you are here and the two of us can usher in a return of the Jedi Knights. The Force is with use Leia, always."

And that was the hope that Obi-wan held to. The Force had preserved him over the decades to fight once again. This time, this time he would do things right and train Leia in a way he never could Anakin. The darkness of the Sith would give way to the light of the Force created by his new friends and allies. It was now only a matter of time.


End file.
